Kaizoku no Naku Koro Ni
by DJ Paynter
Summary: The Crew of the Axe arrives at the island of Hinamizawa during the Spirng Festival. It seems like a nice enough place until they realize that something is horribly wrong. Now they must unravel the true mystery behind the disappaerances before it's too lat
1. Joubunhen

Jobun-hen (Introduction/Preface Chapter)

"Are you ready for this Dusty-chan?"

"No way I'll lose this time!" The fox-girl stretched as she watched her speedy boyfriend do the same. They stood in the middle mast gym of the _Ocean Dreamer_, preparing for some sort of activity.

"We'll see." He grinned, disappearing in a blur.

"Alright… where are you…?" Dusty jumped out of the way as a 'thwack' was heard in the spot she was standing. "Ha! Missed me!" She teased as she swung around, diving in and out of the gym equipment with her strong flexibility. As she poked her head out from a pommel horse, she felt a light tap on her forehead as DJ appeared in front of her again.

"Sorry Dusty-chan, not this time. Tag, you're it."

"Damnit! I haven't won yet!"

"Sorry Dusty-chan, being supersonic kinda helps in tag." DJ laughed and rubbed the back of his head. "But you lasted longer that time, your evasion is getting better, I'm just getting faster at a similar rate."

"Yeah well…" Dusty trailed off as she looked out the window, spotting something in the distance past the waves. "WHOOT! We finally hit land!"

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"God I'm bored, how long has it been since we left Water 7?" Devon asked, tapping his foot against the bed he and Kirsty shared, sharpening his gladius swords while laying down.

"A few days at least." The blonde doctor looked to her swordsman husband, checking over her medical records and comparing them with her books.

"Maybe I should go spar with Macleod, I'm bored enough, I'll do anything…" The blonde male sighed.

"He's training with Dusty in the gym right now, doubt he'll be able to fight you too."

"Psh, you call that training? They play tag and games all the time, they're more like little kids than pirates…"

"LAAAAAAAAAAAAND!!!" Came a shrill, loud voice from outside the cabin.

"Was that Dusty?" Kirsty asked, turning her head.

"That's impossible… Azu soundproofed this room himself, nothing can get in here…" Devon sat up, looking around.

"YO GUYS! LAAAAND!!!"

"Guess he didn't Dusty-proof it…" The swordsman sighed as sure enough, the kitsune girl came pounding on their door and every door on that floor, screaming about land.

Once the whole crew of pirates was on deck and the island was in clear view, they watched their excitable scout jump up and down excitedly. "What the hell's wrong with you kit? You act like we've been out here for years…"

"Well it has been a while since we last docked, we're all a little eager to stretch a bit." The red-haired navigator, Chizuru pointed out.

They all looked out onto the island that was quickly approaching. It was fairly large, but not as big as others they had seen like Alabasta and Little Garden. It didn't seem to be technologically advanced nor underdeveloped, it had a balanced, small town feel.

"Alright guys! Let's go! To… ADVENTURE!" Captain Axe shouted as he pointed to the island.

Sharpshooter Niri stared blankly at her captain, eyebrow twitching. "I don't know what's worse, Dusty's hyperness or your adventure craving…"

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"Hello there, welcome to Hinamizawa, strangers." A small girl with long dark hair in her mid to early teens greeted them with a small welcoming party.

"Wow, good welcome for pirates." Azu whispered.

"They don't know we're pirates yet, so try not to piss them off…" Herman told the shipwright.

"Hey, it's me." Azu grinned to the lobster merman chef, causing him to roll his eyestalks.

"I am Sierra Furude, resident miko of Hinamizawa, and part of the welcome party." She smiled brightly and bowed. "I welcome you on behalf of all residents here. You're just in time for the first day of Spring Festival."

"Alright! A festival!" Dusty cheered.

"Whoohoo, a party, let's get wasted!" Azu took a drink from his clay jug to get things off to a good start.

"What's this festival about?" Kirsty asked, looking at the little girl and also taking in the number of men in black clothing surrounding her that could easily be hiding weapons under their clothes.

"It's our festival to celebrate the patron god of the island, Kyuui-sama. The festivities play out for three days before the celebration feast. This is Idei, the first day so we'd be honored if you'd join us for the celebration."

"Awesome…" Axe grinned and put his fist in the air. "Alright, we accept!"

"Psh, ignorant people and their gods, Odin is the true god." Devon crossed his arms grumpily.

"Shush you." Kirsty elbowed him in the ribs lightly as Sierra turned around and began walking, her escorts following her and the pirates soon after.

"What kind of festivities do you have during these three days?" Niri asked as they followed Sierra from the outskirts of the simple village to a somewhat busier street. The homes and buildings were simple and trees and hills were interspersed between them.

"Well we have feasts, contests, and things like that, but most popular are the games." The young miko girl gave a devilish grin that made a few of the less brave crewmembers gulp in fear.

"G-Games?" Dusty shivered and hid behind DJ a little. "I don't like the way she says that… What kind of games?"

"There's not much unusual about the games themselves, whatever people think up, we play, but what happens afterwards is the fun part. The loser has to take a punishment that the winner decides." She giggled into her hand. "You can make them do WHATEVER you want."

"Hmm… I like the sound of that." Azu chuckled lecherously, earning him a few bonks on the head and some large lumps.

"It's awfully peaceful here, you guys don't have any trouble with pirates or marines?" Chizuru asked.

"You mean other than you?" One of the men in black asked., giving a glare towards them

"Shioru-san, shush." Sierra calmed him down slightly.

"They were flying a Jolly Roger, I could see their ship from the dock Furude-sama." The man, Shioru said, not taking his eyes off the pirates.

"They're welcome for the festival, no matter who they are." Sierra answered, looking back to them and smiling brightly. "Sorry about him, this is Shioru Oishi, he's the head of our ninjutsu police force here that keep the peace, not a large group but big enough for our needs." Sierra patted him on the waist, which was where the girl was able to reach the middle-aged man at arm's length. "We have a few pirate crews come and go ever now and then, we have another small pirate crew with us right now, but most leave us alone since we're such a small town and have little of value. The Marines don't bother us much anymore either…"

"Anymore?" Kirsty questioned.

"Anyway, we're a fairly small town and we have plenty to go around, the island has a population of about 2,000 which, considering the size of the island isn't that much." Sierra swiftly changed the topic, leaving some skeptical about what she was avoiding saying.

"Hihi Furude-chama!" A blonde girl about Sierra's age came running towards them, nearly glomping the miko as she approached. "How're you?" She looked towards the pirates and began to hide behind Sierra, head poking out a little with an eyebrow raised. "…Who're they?"

"Oh, these are our new pirate guests, the Axe-Heads." Sierra introduced them, knowing the crew name better than the individuals. "Everyone, this is my roommate Michelle Hojo, we call her Mi-chan."

"Kawaii~" DJ's lovesick voice came from the back of the small pirate crowd along with a distinct jealous fox-like growl.

"Nice to meet you Miss Hojo." Chizuru bowed lightly as the rest of the crew grumbled greetings.

"Hmm, this is going to take a while if we all stay together, how about we continue the tour and split up into threes? Mi-chan, Shioru and I will all lead one group." Sierra suggested.

"Awww, but I just found you, I dun wanna leave again…" Michelle hugged Sierra and rubbed her cheek on hers.

"Hot…" Azu commented, earning a few more swats.

"I promise I'll meet you again soon." Sierra patted the blonde girl and began to lead her own group as Michelle and Shioru begrudgingly did the same.

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Sierra led Dusty, DJ, Chizuru, and Herman around what looked like the Hinamizawa religious shrine. "This is the shrine to Kyuui-sama, it's normally fairly trafficked during the festival so people can pay their respects." The young miko led them around the large, ornate shrine.

"What is this Kyuui like?" Chizuru asked inquisitively.

"I bet she's pretty~" DJ chimed with a look of love on his face.

"Take a look for yourself." A male voice came from just inside the paper wall of the shrine before he opened the door, revealing a man with black hair and looked to be in his late twenties with a straight scar down his right eye. "That's her over there." He pointed to a large elegant white statue.

The group of pirates hurried over to the statue and examined it carefully. It was of a beautiful, but feral-looking mature woman. She wore worn-out clothing with scattered bits of battle armor and was standing on what appeared to a collection of terrified skulls beneath her. She had a pair of white fox ears on her head and a white tail extending from her back and held a wicked-looking stained sword.

"Wow, reminds me of Dusty-chan, I always knew she was a goddess~!" DJ exclaimed, keeping his look of love.

"That's Kyuui-sama, she's a goddess of death and torture. She was one of Inari's messenger foxes that fell from grace because of her sadistic ways. She came to this island and founded Hinamizawa, torturing and killing whoever she didn't like. It's a shame that such a god exists, it truly speaks to human nature that an idol can be created by human beings and sanctified by their fear. I certainly hope that there will come a day where humans won't have to be afraid." The man sighed as he and Sierra walked up to them.

"Everyone, this is Iago Togire. He's my assistant here at the shrine. Togire-san, you shouldn't talk about Kyuui-sama like that. It's not good to speak ill of a goddess, and you're scaring our guests." She looked to a cowering Dusty. "Besides, Kyuui-sama isn't all bad, she had a dirty job but it has to be done."

"Tell that to the ghosts that haunt the Saiguden." Iago scoffed.

"Saiguden?" Herman and Chizuru said in unison, eyes widening as Dusty let out a whimper and DJ seemed to be a bit startled.

"It's fitting for a goddess of torture and death to have a torture chamber, no?"

"The Saiguden is a torture chamber under the temple… that we don't use anymore Iago." Sierra shot a glare to the assistant. "A long time ago people used to torture others in the name of Kyuui-sama."

"But we don't have to anymore do we?" Iago muttered something under his breath.

"This is sounding scary… let's get out of here." Dusty suggested.

"Don't worry, every land has some dark history, don't you agree?" Sierra smiled brightly as she continued to lead them around. "In the back is mine and Michelle's room and farther back than that we have the Wata River that runs through the island and next to that we have some of the worship rooms we use for our daily rituals."

"Is it just me or are you getting a bad feeling about this shrine too?" Herman whispered to Chizuru as Sierra continued the tour.

"It's not just you, I'm a psychic and I can't even tell what's going on here. But it's not like we have anything concrete other than feelings."

"I suppose so, it such a small and nice place otherwise, what could possibly go wrong?"

"Famous last words, Big Guy, famous last words…"

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Meanwhile Shioru lead Axe, Niri, Pingu, Sora, and Azu into one of the local diners that had… interesting customs.

"I LOVE THIS PLACE! I WANNA STAY HERE FOREVER!" The drunken perverted shipwright shouted, ogling the waitresses.

Aside from the staff of the diner being almost entirely female, they all had quite interesting uniforms on. The front of the black red-trimmed dress was low cut and the skirts were extraordinarily short, so much so that if not for the lace at the bottom, the girls would be at least partially exposed. "Boy, Paulie would have a fit in this place." Niri looked around disdainfully, glaring at Axe who seemed to be enjoying himself a fair amount as well.

"Wow, didn't know places like this would be in a small town." Pingu told Sora in the language only the penguin and the sky fox could understand. "Watch and learn, blue boy." Pingu hopped up on an empty table, making his eyes big and looking very cute, attracting some of the female waitresses.

"Aww, he's so cute!" A green-haired girl exclaimed.

"Hey, look at that one!" Another waitress pointed to Sora, who was curled up into a blue furry ball, looking very cute himself.

"AWWW! He's so cute, I just wanna take him home!" A red-haired lady ran up to the fox with amazing speed and grabbed Sora, rubbing him on her face delightedly.

"I win." Sora stuck his tongue out at Pingu.

"Damn fox…"

"It sure is refreshing to be welcomed into a community instead of hated." Niri ate slowly, watching Axe go from watching the girls to stuffing his face. Azu had calmed down a fair amount too; even his perversion had its limits she supposed.

"Don't get used to it, pirates." Shioru gulped down his food angrily.

"Yo, Ryuugu! Stop hugging that damn fox and take my order!" The man in the next booth shouted at the redhead that was trying to steal Niri's sky fox.

"That guy's certainly loud." Axe mumbled with a mouthful of noodles hanging out of his mouth before slurping them in.

"Meh, Rena can get distracted sometimes, it's best if someone tries to keep her focused." The head ninja watched the girl and the customer argue.

"Do you know that guy?" Niri asked, nodding into the next booth.

"You know these booths aren't made of stone or nothin', I can hear you just fine…" The man called as Rena put Sora down and went to get his order. He turned around to reveal a he was a middle-aged man with jet-black hair, and a few scars scattered across his face. What was most surprising though was the fact that he was missing his entire right arm up to his shoulder.

"This is Ishu Tomitake, he was a marine lieutenant before he came to live here." Shioru introduced the man.

"Hmm, really?" Niri grinned. "I was a marine once too, but I wasn't all that far up."

"Ha, no surprise there, I can tell that just by looking at ya." Ishu sipped his drink while glaring at Niri.

"What was THAT!?" Niri shot up out of her seat, forcing Axe and Azu to hold her down with their strength.

"Bah, women marines." The former lieutenant grumbled gruffly and sat his drink down. "I'll see you guys around I guess, if you survive the night…" He sat up quickly and walked out, leaving a confused red-head waitress holding his order.

"What do ya suppose he meant by that?" Azu blinked and looked to the others as they shrugged.

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Michelle led Devon, Kirsty, and Austin down a country path, lined with trees and a few rocky hills. "This is the main transportation path for the community, it connects the residential district and the business district." She said in a voice fitting of a tour guide. "Near here we have the school and clubhouses, the hospital and apartments, things like that."

"You guys have a hospital here? How big is it?" Kirsty asked.

"We're a small town, not a bunch of backward hicks. The hospital's one of the biggest buildings in the entire city. Although I can't say much for the staff, they're a bit… eccentric…" She warned.

"Can we go there? I want to see what kind of medical supplies you guys have." The blonde doctor pleaded.

"I don't see why not, it's not far." Michelle waved them along and hurried them down the road to a large building at least three times taller than the other houses. As they stepped inside they noticed it was almost entirely white inside and had some interesting-looking tools, serums, and maps on carts and on the walls.

"Is Dr. Irie in?" Michelle asked an attendant. "We have another medical professional here who wants to talk to him."

"Hohoho!" A male voice called out before an orange-haired man in classes and a white lab coat came spinning towards them. "Why hello there! To what do we owe your presence here today Michelle? Who are your friends?"

'_This guy reminds me of Sanji from the Strawhats…'_ Austin told his brother in sign language.

"Yeah, he kinda does…" Devon chuckled and patted his mute brother on the back.

"Oh my, aren't you cute?" Dr. Irie kneeled down to Austin's eye level and grinned. "Mind if I take him for a… checkup for a few hours?" He giggled effeminately.

"What the… are you coming on to my brother!? You're worse than Macleod, get the hell away from him!" Devon kicked the doctor over, causing him to fall flat on his face.

"It's just a proposition, no reason to get violent." Irie stood up and fixed his glasses, turning to Kirsty. "I understand you're a doctor as well? It's a pleasure to meet you I am Dr. Kotaro Irie, head medical professional for Hinamizawa. Our services are open for you to use and research for as long as you stay here."

"Thank you Doctor." Kirsty beamed. "See Devon? He's not so bad."

"Other than the gay flirting with my brother? Yeah, he's just peachy…" Devon grumbled and crossed his arms, turning to Michelle and Austin.

"Don't worry about that, he just gets… excited around children, he even asked me to marry him when I grow up, although he's the one who needs to grow up if you ask me…" Austin gave a definite nod to Michelle's assertion.

"Doctor…" Kirsty looked carefully at the map posted on the wall. "What's HS? This entire wing here is devoted to just two letters? I don't believe I've heard of that disease before, is it something local?"

"Oh that?" Irie blinked, quickly getting between Kirsty and the map. "That's, um… nothing important. HS stands for… Hollow Space, that's an unused wing for when we have extra patients and all the other rooms are filled up, nothing in particular is done there."

"An entire wing of 'nothing in particular'?" Devon scoffed. "Sounds like a design flaw to me."

"Yes, well… it just works out that way sometimes doesn't it?" Irie chuckled, sweatdropping lightly.

'_Hmmm… someone's hiding something here…'_ Austin looked from the young blonde girl to the pedophile doctor. _'I'm starting to get a bad feeling about this place…'_

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Later on the entire crew met up again after their tours, they discussed what they had seen, had dinner for those who hadn't eaten yet and took part in some of the strange games that the first day of the festival offered (with some strange results for punishment games, leaving some of the crew in strange outfits). After their fun and some collaboration, most of them agreed that something strange was going on and they had better find out what before that something happened.

"That temple was creepy… especially that statue and the torture chamber." DJ (who was wearing fake cat ears and a tail along with whisker face paint and a leash for some reason) shivered.

"That guy in the diner was pretty freaky too." Azu (who had had a wet spot in his pants from pouring ice down there) agreed.

"And that doctor was hiding something… something besides the fact he wants to molest Austin." Devon (who was in a skimpy maid outfit) nodded in the most dignified fashion he could muster.

"Agreed." Axe nodded and walked over to Sierra (who was feeding Michelle her dinner like a baby). "Excuse me Furude-sama, can I speak with you a moment?"

Both girls gulped, one swallowing food and the other out of fear. "Sure..."

"You better not be trying anything, pirate…" Shioru warned, pulling a kunai seemingly out of nowhere.

"Please, you'd be dead twice before you hit the ground. Besides, those things don't work to well on me…" He grinned.

"Huh? … Twice?" He blinked to find that as fast as he drew his kunai, DJ as right behind him, holding his sabre-katana Raikiri to his neck and Niri had drawn her father's pistol and was aiming it right between Shioru's eyes."

"Lower your weapons everybody, we don't want to turn a fun time into a battlefield, Nipah~?"

"Nipah? What's that mean?" Herman asked.

"No clue." Chizuru shrugged. "Must be some local dialectic."

"What did you want to ask, Axe-san?" Sierra smiled brightly.

"Is there something you're not telling us about this place? This seems like a very nice town, but something seems out of place…" Axe admitted, he watched Sierra, Michelle and Shioru as their eyes flashed recognition and despair.

The Furude miko nodded. "There is…"

"Furude-sama, don't!" Shioru called out to her, but the dark-haired girl shook her head, shaking a few tears from her eyes in the process.

"If there's anything you're not telling us, I suggest you do it now." The captain asserted, the rest of his crew listening intently.

"The truth is… the Spring Festival is… a sacrifice."

The pirate's eyes widened at the realization, some yelped in terror, some growled in hatred, and some stayed silent, dumbfounded. Axe stayed calm and stared the miko girl down. "What do you mean a sacrifice?"

"For Kyuui-sama…" Sierra lowered her head. "Every year for the past four years… something happens to any visitors that come to the island during festival times. They all… die."

"D-Die!?" Dusty and Austin attempted to hide underneath their dinner picnic blanket, poking their heads out to listen.

"You… you kill them?" Devon growled, grabbing his swords.

"No, no! It's not like that at all!" Sierra waved her hands in front of her face. It's the curse…"

"What curse?" Kirsty asked.

"Kyuui-sama's Curse. Because Kyuui-sama is the goddess of death and torture, she demands a sacrifice every year and she spirits away any traspassers on the island and kills them…" Sierra sobbed quietly. "I'm sorry, I should have told you as soon as you got here, but once you stepped foot on this island, the curse began to seal your fate, no one can survive…"

"I wouldn't say that, after all it wouldn't be the first time we kicked a goddess' ass." Devon grinned, looking at his Water Moon sword fondly.

"We're tough, there's no way something like a curse is going to beat us." Niri nodded.

"You don't understand." Shioru interceded. "The outside world seems to have a universal law that tries to prevent death of people with strong wills. Haven't you ever noticed that people who are strong-willed and even some that aren't can survive a seemingly inhuman amount of torture and pain?"

"Now that you mention it…"

"Well that boundary doesn't exist here. No matter how strong your will is, as part of the curse, a human being can and will die as easily as anyone else. Kyuui-sama is an envoy of death and this is her kingdom, there won't be any second chances for you. Death and torture will erode your bonds of friendship and shatter your dreams." Shioru glared at them.

"We'll see about that won't we?" Axe grinned broadly.

"Who are you to smile in the face of death, pirate!?" The ninja screamed.

"I'm Captain Axe, and there's no way I'm going to die before I realize my dream to become the greatest treasure hunter in the world!" Axe pointed to himself, still smiling foolishly.

"And if you do die?"

"If I die, then that will be it, won't it? No sense worrying about it." He grinned. "And my crew feels the same way, right guys!?"

"AYE!"

'_These people… they remind me of him…' _Sierra smiled warmly towards the pirates. "Best of luck to you then…"

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The crew decided to return to the _Ocean Dreamer _for a meeting to decide what to do about the so-called 'curse' and how the next few days would play out.

"I say we get the fuck out of here!" Dusty raised her hand quickly.

"We can't do that…" Chizuru sighed. "The Log Pose has already begun to set and according to Sierra it takes three days to set to the next island. Until those three days have passed, we're stuck here."

"Aww, man…" Dusty's ear's drooped as she lowered her head.

"The better question is should we go to sleep with those island freaks so nearby?" Devon leaned back in his chair. "They didn't tell us about this curse to begin with so how can we trust them at all? For all we know one of all of them could be the ones who killed those visitors for the past four years."

"That's not right Devon, we can't start mistrusting everyone around us, if we do that then we'll drive ourselves nuts from paranoia… The fact that they told us about the curse at all should be an indicator that they can at least be somewhat trusted. If they wanted to kill us, why warn us first and risk upsetting their god?" Niri argued, polishing her father's pistol.

"Right, for now we'll trust them, but everyone keep your eyes open. We'll stay and enjoy the festival, no sense driving us crazy until something happens. We'll leave as soon as the Log Pose sets and as long as we're careful, everything should be fine." Axe ordered. "Meeting dismissed."

Some of the Axe-heads got ready for bed as the sun began to set, Kirsty walked out onto the deck and some of the others sat around the galley table talking. "So… how would you want to do it?" Niri asked.

"Do what?"

"Die… if you could choose how to die, what would you do?"

"Dying in battle is the only honorable way to go." Devon grinned, seeming unphased by the odd subject.

"I'd like to die protecting someone with my last breath, someone close to me. As for how, I think I'd like to die by falling. As you're falling you get one last second and your true self comes out, you get one last thought, one last phrase before you die, everyone becomes a poet with their dying breath." DJ smiled somewhat shakily, obviously more startled than his fellow swordsman about the idea of planning his own death.

"That's really gay Macleod."

"Shut up, baka Demon King!"

"I'd like to die in the sack, a beer in one hand and a girl in the other." Azu grinned lecherously. "Everyone's gotta go sometime, might as well do it happily."

Chizuru thought for a moment. "I'd like to go while spiting my worst enemy, that way you know there's no way they can ever get you back and you'll be laughing from hell as their soul rots away from the inside. Once you're dead they can't exactly do much, can't torture a corpse and when they finally die themselves the evil in their vengeful heart will drive them crazy and rip them apart." The fire-haired navigator grinned.

Everyone was silent for a while.

"Damn, you always win at these things…" Niri sighed.

"What about you Niri-chan?" DJ questioned.

"I don't know, I suppose I'd like to die in the arms of a lover, knowing that they were close to me till the very end, knowing that they will follow me into the dark." She smiled contently, then realized everyone was staring at her and blushed madly. "N-Not that there is anyone like that…"

"That does sound nice.." The brunette musician smiled warmly. As the remaining crewmembers discussed and got ready to go to bed or whatever night activities they had planned, Devon walked out onto the deck, finding Kirst staring off the side of the ship at the sunset.

"What're you up to?" He asked his wife tenderly.

"Just watching the sunset… it's funny how you can take things like these for granted…" She turned to him and smiled lightly before turning to the setting sun again.

"Like sunsets?" He questioned and walked up to stand next to her, gazing at the sight as well.

"Yeah… for some reason, when you get the idea that you might die tomorrow or the next day, you start realizing how precious everything is. You realize that this may be the last sunset you see."

Devon grabbed her and pulled her into a tight embrace, running a hand through her hair gently. "I promise you, it won't be. I promise that when everything's over here, when we're leaving this island, I will stand out on this deck with you again and we will watch the sunset together." He kissed her gently as the sun set and the sky began to darken.

As the stars came out and twinkled lightly in the sky, a sound began to rise out of the darkness. The cicadas began to chirp.

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Sierra stood on a small cliff overlooking Hinamizawa as night fell. She could see the entire town, the hospital and other buildings, the river, and even the coast the pirate ship docked there. A dark figure came out of the tree line to greet her.

"Do you feel bad about what happened last time? Is that why you told them?" The figure queried.

"Yes, maybe that's it… do you hear that?" The miko asked, hearing the chirping of the cicadas rising above the hills. "They sound sad… like they're crying…"

"Yes, there is much to cry about…"

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In the dark chambers of the pirate ship, the Axe-Head sat in its bed, tossing and turning from discomfort. It scratched at its skin feverishly, growing into a rash with a drop of blood spreading under their nails. "It itches… what's wrong with me?" They stared at their hand. "Whatever… it's probably nothing…"

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**There's the first chapter, for some clarification, most of the people's names in the town are made-up first names with last names of characters from Higurashi. And before anyone says anything, Kyuui-sama is not a Kyuubi reference with the fox features, Kyuui means "peace" or "worn-out clothing" ironic, no? Secondly, This is to take place between the Thriller Bark arc and the Enies Lobby Arc as another stop before the Sabaody Archipelago.**

**Sorry for the amount of exposition in this chap, but I wanted to get the vast majority of it out of the way so people get to know how Hinamizawa works before the curse starts taking effect. **

**Hope you enjoyed! And in order to keep the suspense, I won't be making previews for any of these chapters, don't want to give away any of the mystery prematurely. So start placing bets people! Government conspiracy? Religious cult? Traitor among the crew or is it really a deity at work in Hinamizawa? We'll find out soon enough as the mystery begins to reveal itself…**


	2. Maboroshihen

**Maboroshi-hen **_(Ghost/Illusion Chapter)_

"Man, why did they send me with you?"

"Because they don't trust you to do it yourself without perving out?" DJ watched as Azu complained. The rest of the group had gone to the festivities for Nidei, the second day of the festival, and since supplies were low, Azu and DJ were sent to pick up some food from the local diner (actually going to the diner was Azu's idea, he seemed very excited to go for some reason).

"Meh whatever," Azu put his hands behind his head as they walked down the path to the diner. "Say, have we ever… you know, talked? I mean usually we pair off and it's me and Devon, or you and Devon, or you and Dusty, never really us, wonder why that is…"

"Now that you mention it…" DJ shrugged. "No clue, just one of those things, ya know?"

"So… are you scared? About that curse thing? Sounds stupid if you ask me." Azu shrugged halfheartedly.

"Of course not, we've faced down tough things before, not like it's anything new." The brunette musician scoffed as he opened the door to the diner. "Besides, a god that would kill people for no reason doesn't sound like much of a god."

"I guess so, but still the idea of a curse that you can't do anything about is kind of scary…" The drunken boxer sighed as he sat down.

"Something bothering you? You're not usually this reflective… I think." DJ blinked.

"Guess it's just kindof unnerving, I've lost a lot of the people important to me in my life, Tom-san, Goheno, so many of them are gone. Sometimes I wonder if I really am cursed. I don't like the idea of losing my nakama without a fight."

"I can understand that…" The speedy swordsman nodded, reflecting on his own losses over his lifetime. "Tell you what, if either one of us gets in trouble, we'll help the other out, kay?" He smiled warmly and put his elbow on the table, opening his hand.

"Deal." Azu grinned, doing the same and clasped his hand in DJ's in a half-high-five, half-arm-wrestling position.

"How may I help you?" The red-haired waitress in the skimpy uniform that was hugging Pingu and Sora yesterday asked.

"I can think of a few ways!" Azu laughed lecherously, ogling the girl closely.

Rena sighed and snapped her fingers, causing a large bucket to seemingly appear out of nowhere and hit Azu on the head. "Anything else?"

"Where the hell did that bucket come from!?" The shipwright growled, rubbing the fresh lump on his head.

"Uh, yeah, I think I'll have the chicken please, and could we have a few lunchboxes for our friends?" DJ sighed calmly, ignoring his nakama's perversion and outbursts.

"Sure thing." Rena smiled brightly and turned around, trotting off. This caused Azu to stare at her backside intently, as well as the other scantily clad waitresses. "Ooohohoo, I love coming here…" He laughed.

"Do you have to do that?" DJ groaned, hiding under his menu. "I can't believe they have a place like this here." He blushed. "And it's even more embarrassing because I'm here with you…"

"Don't you mean because Dusty might see you here?" Azu grinned. "I bet if you weren't afraid of being in the doghouse with her, you'd be almost as bad as me."

"That is so not true…" DJ blushed deeper and hid underneath his menu more, trying not to look at the females around him.

"Hey waitress!" A loud customer shouted at Rena as she put in DJ and Azu's order. "Another round of drinks!"

"One moment sir," Rena nodded, quickly turning away from the noisy group.

"Who're the party animals?" Azu asked the guy in the booth next to theirs.

"They're the pirate crew that's on the island for the festival." He answered "Loud and rude, they'll be lucky if they don't get spirited away by the end of the celebrations."

"There's another pirate crew on the island huh?" Azu blinked, taking a look at the group. "Wonder if it's anyone we know."

"Come on, there's thousands of crews on the seas, what are the chances of…" DJ's eyes widened when he heard a voice, saw a tail swaying, and saw the all-to-familiar poison spear on the wall. "Dimitri…"

"What'd you say?" Azu blinked. "You know that guy?"

DJ snapped out of a haze and shook his head. "No, it's nothing…" He scratched his eye for a moment, not turning away from the group as he stood up. "Get the food and get out of here, I'll be along in a second, I have something to take care of here."

"Alright man, be careful…" The shipwright nodded to his nakama.

Before he even made it to the table, Dimitri and Katt recognized him and called for him to come over. "Oi, you're the little stowaway punk from Whiskey Peak. Does that mean my pet's here as well?"

"DUSTY-CHAN IS NOT YOUR PET!!" DJ roared, causing a good portion of the diner to go silent. "She's happy where she is, free from her past and with people who love her, so if you have any decency as a man at all, let it go and stay out of her life!"

The tattooed spear-wielder laughed, his cheeks red from his drunkenness. "Dusty-CHAN as you say, never stopped being mine, she will always be my pet, like her." He ran a hand through Katt the pole fighter's fur, earning an affectionate purr. "I don't let my property go." He stared into DJ's eyes coldly. "I will chase that girl until the day she dies."

"And I will protect her until the day I die." He answered.

"Then it will never end until one of us ends it." He grinned. "How about it? Meet me outside in two hours, give me a chance to sober up and have a little fun." He chuckled lecherously to his cat-zoan pet. "Then we'll end it once and for all…"

The speedy swordsman placed a hand over his scarred eye, clutching it until it bled slightly, wiping the crimson liquid from his hand, realizing what he was proposing. He nodded. "Yes, it ends today."

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DJ and Azu took their food to go and brought that which was necessary back to the ship. The drunken boxer noticed his nakama was strangely quiet instead of his hyperactive love-struck self. He refused to tell him what happened at the diner and didn't say much else. Once they were back on the _Ocean Dreamer_ they gave the others the supplies they needed for their picnic.

A knock came on the door to Kirsty and Devon's room. Since the doctor was at the picnic with Herman and the other girls, Devon answered the door. "What do you want?" He asked DJ, raising an eyebrow to his unusually sad face.

"I need to talk, can I come in?" He said quietly.

"Sure…" Devon blinked slightly and let him in, watching as his fellow swordsman sat on the bed he and Kirsty shared. "If this is some kind of gay seduction then I…"

"Not the time." DJ looked up, eyes full of seriousness.

"Sorry, what's eating you?"

"Devon… do you think that you could ever… kill someone?" He rested his hands in his face as he spoke, running a finger down the scar across his eye.

"You know who you're talking to, right? I've killed my own masters, freaks from the New World, and a ton of marines, why ask something like that?" The blonde nittoryu user looked surprised at his crewmate.

"Maybe kill's not the right word… I mean… murder. Could you ever knowingly and willfully kill someone out of malice? Even to protect someone you love? I've always that that kind of thinking was irrational and that killing was never necessary and was just something that happened from time to time, something sad yes but nothing that could be prevented. Killing in the heat of battle of course can't be helped, but if you have it in your heart to kill someone no matter what, what kind of person would that make you? Could you murder someone in cold and hateful blood if it meant you could protect the thing most precious to you?"

Devon stared at him for a long moment before answering. "Yes, I think I could. If it was to protect someone I loved then I would do anything necessary. Even if it meant staining my hands with blood and essentially becoming a monster."

"_Hehehe…for you that's not much of a stretch." _Thrymr chuckled in Devon's head.

"Thank you, that helps a lot." DJ nodded, slowly getting up and heading to the door.

"What's this about Macleod? Are you in some kind of trouble?"

"I'll tell you everything afterwards." He said quietly before closing the door and speeding off so fast that the other swordsman couldn't hope to follow.

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"Haha, think he's going to show?" Dimitri laughed outside the bar, nearly two hours since he and DJ last spoke.

"Nya, nya, master he's probably cowering under a rock somewhere about to wet himself." Katt giggled as she cuddled up to her 'owner'.

As they spoke a quick gust and a wave of dust overtook the pirates. When the dust settled, DJ stood before them, gripping Raikiri in his hand so tight that his knuckles turned white. "Please forgive me Raikiri…" He whispered to his sword. "And just this once…" He glared at Dimitri. "… become a murderer with me!"

"Hehe, muttering a prayer before your death?" Dimitri chuckled as he grabbed his spear. "I hope you're ready for this kid… you may have caught me off guard last time, but this time I'll…"

"Shinsoku battô: Panther Run!" DJ shrieked and disappeared, putting Dimitri on guard. The tattooed pirate blinked as he felt something warm and heard something wet hit the ground. He looked down and saw what it was… his arm! His arm had been severed clear off from close to the elbow and was lying in a pool of his own blood. The spear-wielder screamed and turned to where DJ was standing now behind him. "YOU BASTARD! I'll get you for that!" He raised his spear to stab at the speedy swordsman but his opponent disappeared again. He appeared behind him, grabbing his one remaining arm by the wrist so hard that he dropped his weapon, forcing the arm around his back so quickly and forcefully that the pirate heard a pop in his socket as DJ continued to crush his wrist, holding the point of Raikiri to his back. "AH! Please, I surrender! Mercy! I promise I won't go after her ever again! She's all yours, you win!"

DJ growled and whispered in Dimitri's ear. "To protect a life I love… I will take YOUR life!"

"But I'm begging you for mercy! You goody-goody pirates can't attack an unarmed man begging for compassion!" He cried as his crew watched in amazement.

"There is much you don't understand…" DJ whispered again, pushing his sword forward so it ripped through Dimitri's chest, soaking the swordsman in his enemy's blood as he finally let his wrist go, allowing him to fall to the ground in a bloody unmoving heap. He turned to the crew of the pet-owner commander, chest and arms stained with his blood. "You're next…" He said quietly and disappeared.

The rest of the pirate crew let out horrified screams, acknowledging their impending deaths. One by one, the speedy swordsman cut them down, blood flying everywhere as those who tried to flee were only cut off faster.

Katt tried to dodge the incoming attack but she too was cut down quickly, sporting a large gash on her chest. As the rest of the crew lay as bloody corpses, the speedy swordsman stood over the pole fighter. "B-But why?" She asked, groaning from her injury.

He held Raikiri over his head like a guillotine ready to decapitate her. "Anything to protect a life I love… even becoming a monster." He whispered, bringing the sword down on her terrified form, letting the sound of blood splattering and a horrified shriek pierce into the deep woods.

-----------------------------------------------------

DJ scratched his eye as he headed back to the ship, ripping open the scar across his left eye and letting the blood flow down the side of the face, having no idea why his skin seemed to be burning so much in that area lately. He laughed to himself on the path, starting in a slow chuckle. "haha… hahaha…. HAHAHAHAHA!!!" He roared, looking up into the now night sky, soaked in blood, both his own and his enemies'. "I did it…" He breathed manically and let out another laugh, leaning up against a tree and looking at his hands. "I really killed them… now Dusty-chan can be happy…" He grinned, his face twisting in another fit of laughter. "Now things can go back to the way they were and no one will ever hurt her again!" He raised his hands and head, as if making a declaration to the moon.

He saw the ship coming up and hurried towards it, too excited to wait to tell her the wonderful news. He panted, still scratching his eye lightly as he rose to the dock of the ship. No one was there and it was eerily quiet. The stillness of the night unnerved him and he called out for his nakama, not getting an answer. "Where are they…" He eyed the deck cautiously, going to the cabins. As he entered and searched, he made his way to the infirmary, maybe Kirsty could give him something to take care of the itch in his eye. He knocked on the infirmary door and hear the doctor tell him to enter.

Once he did, he watched as Kirsty stared at him, horrified. "W-What happened to you DJ?" She eyed his blood-cloaked clothes and face.

"It's nothing, it's something I had to take care of… it's all good now." He grinned wickedly. "Everything will be fine now…"

'_I don't like the look on his face… is this part of that curse? What's wrong with him… either way it can't be good. I'd better get him under control before he hurts himself any more…' _The doctor eyed his hand, which was covered in blood from scratching his scar, realizing at least some of that he did to himself. "DJ, I want you to take something, you're not looking to good and I want to make sure you're all right, run some tests and things."

"But Kirsty-san, I feel fine." He smiled a deceivingly bright smile as he watched her escort him to a table.

"Maybe so, but I'd better check you just to be sure." She asked him to lie on the table and grabbed a needle full of sedatives to keep him relaxed until she could figure out what was wrong with him.

"Wait, Kirsty-san, what is that?" DJ eyed the needle fearfully. "I don't want to be stuck with anything." He began to sit up only to be encouraged back down by Kirsty.

"It's fine, it's just something to help me relax, trust me." She said gently.

"No! I'm not letting you inject me with anything! There's nothing wrong with me, I feel fine!" He shouted, starting to struggle as Kirsty tried to hold him down to give him the sedative.

"Just hold still, it'll be alright!" She struggled to hold him down, normally she'd be physically stronger than him because of her martial arts but he wasn't weak either and she was in an awkward position with a flailing patient and one hand holding the needle.

"No! Why should I trust you!?" He screamed, flailing again and kicking her down, knocking the needle out of her hand and letting both her and it fall to the floor. In a flash DJ grabbed the needle and reversed the situation, now holding Kirsty down by her arm. "If it's harmless then let's see you take it!" He yelled, sticking the needle in her arm and pushing down the plunger.

The blonde doctor screamed and sat up quickly, finding her movements more sluggish already. "Damnit, can't move…"

"I knew it! You liar! You were trying to poison me!" The swordsman screamed irrationally, pulling out his sword, finding it heavy.

"_Your soul's changed young one, Raikiri will no longer wield to you…"_ The ghost of Sarutobi's voice rang in his head.

"If it won't yield, then I'll bludgeon her!" He lifted the heavy sword over his head like a bat, tears welling up in his eyes. "I trusted you! All of you!" He cried, gripping the heavy sword tightly. "Now I can't trust a single one! You're all out to get me!" He screamed, bringing the sword down like a club on the sedated doctor, causing blood to fly across the infirmary as she screamed.

DJ swung again and again, panting wildly as he heard bones break and blood splatter against the heavy sword, because of the weight it was very hard to cut cleanly and the body was broken and bloody from the overpowered attacks. He continued swinging, letting blood squish until long after the doctor's screams were silenced.

He panted, turning out the door, looking exhausted as he sped through the halls of the ship. "I can't trust any of them… everyone's trying to kill me…" He said to himself. He tore up whoever and whatever got in his way until Niri was unfortunate enough to get in his path.

"DJ, what are you…" She eyed him and looked horrified as she saw what he was doing. "What the hell is going on!?"

"You too… I trusted you, now you must die!" He screamed as he swung his bat-sword, hitting Niri in the ribs, knocking the wind out of her and causing her to fall to the floor, coughing up blood. "What… why?" She winced as she held her side. "Is this the effect of the curse? To make you turn on your friends?"

He held his sword over his head again, panting in a manic frenzy as he glared at Niri. "I trusted you!" He repeated. "Why have all of you turned on me!?"

Niri's eye's widened as she stared at her attacker. "DJ, we haven't… we're still you're friends, your nakama, please trust me…" She raised her hands shakily from the pain in her side, opening them upwards as if to hug him. "Trust us… Believe me…"

"Why should I!?" He roared

"Because we are trying to save you!" Niri cried, still holding her hands out.

"THAT'S A LIE!" DJ screamed, swinging Raikiri down and crushing Niri's hugging arms before swinging repeatedly, killing her in a similar manner as he had Kirsty.

He ran out to the deck, panting and getting bloodier by the encounter. He froze when he saw who stood out on the deck of the Axe-Head ship. It was Dimitri… "I-Impossible… but I killed you!" DJ cried as he ran towards the spear-wielder.

Dimitri merely grinned as he turned towards DJ. "I will chase her until the day I die…" He laughed.

"The hell you will!" DJ screamed, swinging his sword like a baseball bat and connecting with Dimitri, sending him flying across the deck in a bloody mess. He dashed after the body and continued swinging, killing him and mutilating the corpse, making sure there was no possible way he could survive this time.

"DJ-kun!" A voice shouted as a terrified shriek came from behind him.

He turned around to see Dusty and smiled, his blood-covered face showing a genuinely happy expression for the first time in a while. "Dusty-chan… I did it all for you, so we could be happy together…"

"Why did you kill him!? What did he ever do to you!?" She screamed.

"What did he do…?" DJ stared, wondering why she should care if the person who tortured and abused her for so long was dead. He turned back to the body, addressing her. "Dusty-chan, he did such horrible th-…" He stopped mid-sentence as he looked at the corpse. What was once Dimitri, or what DJ had hallucinated as such was not that at all. It was Azu! "W-what…?"

"_I've lost a lot of the people important to me in my life, Tom-san, Goheno, so many of them are gone. Sometimes I wonder if I really am cursed. I don't like the idea of losing my nakama without a fight." _

"_I can understand that… Tell you what, if either one of us gets in trouble, we'll help the other out, kay?"_

"_Deal."_

_Their hands clasped as their agreement to protect each other was sealed._

The others rushed to the deck, terrified by the screams and sights of what had happened.

"W-what have I done…" DJ fell to his knees as the others watched in horror. He had vowed to protect Azu from the curse and instead he had fallen victim to it and killed him. "I'm… I'm sorry…" He looked down to Azu's unmoving body before turning to the rest of the crew. "Everyone… I'm sorry." He sobbed, tears running down his face. He held his sword outwards pointed in. "Raikiri, forgive me, I hope that if we ever meet again, we can be companions once more…" He looked back to the crew. "I promise, if I had another chance, just one other chance, I'd never fall under this again… I will trust my friends…" He cried, the tears washing away some of the blood from his open eye-scar. "Forgive me everyone, but this is all that is left for me now!" He held the sword up, pointed at his stomach.

"DJ-kun, no!" Dusty screamed.

"Seppuku…" Chizuru stared, not believing what she was seeing.

The Phantom Samurai plunged his sword into his stomach, making a left-to-right cut as he fell over in an unmoving heap.

"NO!!!!" Dusty wailed as the cicada's continued chirping in the light of the full moon…

--------------------------------------------------------

_"NO! I won't allow it to end this way… this time's different. I am willing to bet my life on it, even if it takes a million tries, tragedy can be averted! Even if I have to turn back time itself, I will find a happy ending!"_

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**The first tragedy has struck, the victim of the curse, a samurai that loved too much. What is in store for these pirates now? Who is it that believes in them? What will become of those effected by the curse? What is the nature of this curse? **

**Sorry for the confusion guys, it'll become clearer as time goes by, those who have watched Higurashi no Naku Koro ni before may understand a bit more and may notice a few references and scenes being revamped and redone from the show. Sorry for the gore and killings, I let my own character go crazy first so I could show no hard feelings. Finally, I apologize to Supernanny, Dude of Doom and Dragon's Maiden for killing their OCs, I know it can be hard to read, but it happens in this kind of story and I hope you don't blame me for doing what I had to do, don't worry there will be better ends in the future. **

**Anyway, hope you enjoyed this maniacal story of blood and insanity, keep tuning in for more! **


	3. Hangyakuhen

**Hangyaku-hen** _(Mutiny Chapter)_

"DJ-kun, NO!" Dusty shot up in her bed, panting and waking in a cold sweat. She remembered everything, the slitted eyes filled with bloodlust, Azu's death, DJ's suicide, everything. But here she was in her bed, she didn't even remember going to sleep. "What… a dream?" She patted the sheets next to her, confused. "That was crazy…" She sighed, getting out of bed and sitting still for a moment to try and clear her head.

Dusty got dressed and headed out. She walked into the galley and her eyes widened as she saw Azu. She glomped the shipwright and hugged him tightly. "Azu! You're alive!"

"Well no duh I'm alive, but by all means keep pressing up against me."

_Slap!_

Dusty's eye twitched as Azu felt the red handprint on his cheek. "What's up with you today kit? You're acting weirder than usual." Kirsty watched as she and Niri sipped their morning drinks.

"Oh my god, you guys are alive too! Thank heavens!" The fox girl hugged her female crewmates as well.

"I think DJ's been going overboard on the fox nip… must be damaging her brain, not exactly grade A goods to begin with…" Niri eyed her crewmate oddly.

"Oh yeah, DJ-kun… is he okay too then?"

"He's out on the deck last time I checked." Kirsty nodded out the door as Chizuru raised an eyebrow.

"What's wrong Dusty?" The navigator asked, as if weighing her response.

"I had a horrible dream last night that DJ-kun went crazy and killed Azu and Niri and Kirsty…" She admitted, her ears drooping a bit.

"Psh, that's a weird one, like I'd be killed by him, he can't even hit a girl and it'd be embarrassing to even say he COULD kill me." Niri laughed her off.

"Don't worry so much Dusty, it's just a dream." Kirsty smiled warmly.

"Yeah, yeah you're right." Dusty nodded and walked to the door, opening it and walking out on the deck. She didn't see anyone as she looked around the pale orange lighting from the early dawn deck, but she heard something, a familiar voice.

"Come now, it's time to forget…The future's looking bleak.

But still, we look to the sky, and see the crimson rain.

And when you feel the sharp pain of the wind surrounding you…

It's clear that there is…

No escape…"

Dusty looked around for the source but saw nothing.

"Can we run away? Can we run away?  
From our sad destiny that's been long chosen?

I know that you're not a flower from hell like they say…

But they'll never see you, when you fully bloom when you fully bloom…

Fight against your fate and you'll live another day…

The sands of time continue to slowly fall without a sound…"

She looked up and finally saw DJ hanging off part of the mast, smiling down on her. "Hi Dusty-chan, sleep well?"

"DJ-kun… are you really back to normal?" She watched him in concern as he slid from the mast and walked over to her.

"Of course Dusty-chan, there's only one me and I'm here, so I suppose this is as normal as I get." He chuckled.

"I'm… I'm so glad…" She hugged him tightly, trying to hold back tears.

"I hate to ruin the mush, but can I talk with Dusty privately for a moment?" Chizuru asked, slowly closing the door to the galley and walking to the deck.

"Sure Chizzy-chan, I'll grab you some breakfast before Axe eats it all, come in when you finished talking to get it Dusty-chan." He smiled and waved, heading back to the galley.

"This is so strange… it all felt so real…" Dusty whispered.

"That's because it was real." Chizuru nodded. "Not in this world but in a world very similar."

"You're confusing me, can you stop speaking Chizzy-talk and just say things in English please?" Dusty blinked.

"Check the calender, it's Nidei in the festival, to everyone else that's correct, but to you and me, we know Nidei was yesterday, the day when DJ murdered Azu, Kirsty, and Niri." She said coldly.

Dusty's eyes widened. "No… it wasn't just a dream?"

"More like a nightmare, only real. However something has happened that caused time to turn back, some sort of loop to correct a chronological imbalance. Whatever it is has stricken yesterday from everyone's memories except ours. My guess would be that my psychic powers made me immune and your miko heritage allowed you to remember." She continued. "In any case we have to get down to business, whatever happened yesterday, or today, or whenever, we need to make sure that it doesn't happen again."

Dusty nodded. "That world was horrible, I don't want anything like that to happen ever again…"

"Agreed, so basically we have to keep an eye on DJ and make sure he doesn't flip out and kill anyone."

"How can you say that so calmly!? One of our nakama, my boyfriend is a murderer!"

"It isn't that simple, something around here made him like that, something else was influencing him. If that was the case, we have to watch the rest of the crew too for any signs of disturbances. Maybe if we're lucky we can catch this thing before it starts, wait it out till the festival and then get the hell out of here."

"Right, so what do we do?" Dusty nodded affirmatively. "Should we tell everyone? It might help if they're on guard."

"They won't believe you, as you saw in the galley, people aren't ready to believe something like that, and while something's out there making people turn against their friends, it's best not to add the fact that they've murdered each other in an alternate timeline to cultivate mistrust. Anyway, I suggest since you're close to DJ that you observe him and try and keep him out of the way of anything that might cause him to become unstable again. Meanwhile I'll keep an eye on the rest of the crew and make sure nothing's going on with them." Chizuru explained.

The Axe-head scout nodded and whispered. "Right, hopefully we can get things right this time… who knows if we'll get another chance…"

"Dusty-chan, breakfast is all ready, hurry up, Azu and Axe are looking… Dusty-chan! Azu ate your breakfast!" DJ sighed as he came out of the galley a few moments later. "Niri-san sent me and Azu to go get lunch since he ate your breakfast. Wanna come?"

"Uh…" Dusty looked to Chizuru who gave her a look to remind her to keep an eye on DJ, however the last thing she wanted to do was hang out with Azu at that diner with the girls in the skimpy uniforms. "Actually DJ-kun, can Azu handle it by himself? I have something that I need you to help me with." She batted her eyes and gave him the 'I'm a cute little fox girl, please help me' look that made most men melt.

"Hai Dusty-chan~!" DJ sprang into action, hearts in his eyes as he readily agreed to stay.

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Later that day some of the girls met up with Sierra, Shioru, Michelle, and Iago for a picnic to celebrate Nidei in the festival. Azu was still hanging out at that perverse diner, DJ and Dusty were doing god knows what, Axe said he wasn't feeling well and Devon wasn't exactly thrilled to go to a picnic with almost all girls, so that left Niri, Pingu, Sora, Austin, Herman, Chizuru, and Kirsty with the four townspeople to enjoy their lunch.

"Furude-chama, what color is this?" Michelle held up a piece of broccoli, blinking at it.

"It's green Mi-chan, go ahead and eat it." Sierra sighed as she continued eating.

Kirsty blinked and turned to Iago. "What's that all about?" she asked.

The temple assistant swallowed his food and explained. "Michelle is colorblind, when she looks at broccoli she can't tell whether it's green or white so she can't tell if it's broccoli or cauliflower."

"Oh wow, that's odd." Niri blinked as she listened in.

"So, are you guys enjoying the festival so far?" Sierra smiled cutely as she watched the conversing pirates.

"Very much so, the games are quite enjoyable and Hinamizawa is a very beautiful town for its size." Kirsty smiled and bowed her head.

"Plus I've gotten a few small town recipes from the townsfolk, they're very friendly." Herman nodded. "It's not often that I find people who aren't put off by my appearance and are still willing to be so kind."

"If they only knew…" Shioru muttered as he took another bite from his lunchbox.

"Does the festival have a different theme every year? What was it like last year?" Niri asked, grinning.

Sierra's eyes widened and she then lowered her head. "Last year…"

Michelle quickly patted her friend on the shoulder. "It's okay, you don't have to think about…" She was cut off as Sierra shrugged her away and took off in another direction."

Niri blinked as she watched the dark-haired girl run off. "What's up? Did I say something wrong?"

"Furude-chama doesn't like to talk about last year's festival, baka!" Michelle growled, getting up to go after her.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know…" Niri sighed quietly. "Please, let me go get her." She stood up and walked in the direction she saw Sierra go in, soon finding her crouched under a tree, sobbing into her hands.

"Are you alright?" The sniper sat down next to her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

The miko girl sniffed and shook her head. "I'm sorry, it's just too soon…"

"What happened? If you don't mind me asking…" Niri sat down nearby her, eager to listen.

Sierra sniffed and wiped her tears away, sighing and leaning against the tree. "Last year… a friend of mine was taken away by the curse. Takashi Akasaka. He was a marine visiting the island on patrol. We became very close on his stay here…"

-Flashback-

_"Furude-chama, do you believe in destiny?" _

_"Sorta, why do you ask?" Sierra looked up at the older man, looking to be in his late teens or early twenties, his black bangs covering his face except for his mouth._

_"I didn't used to, but marines are taught to believe in justice, which is sort of like karma, what comes around goes around. If that happens then that means to some extent the events of the future are predetermined by the past. I guess that sortof makes sense." He explained._

_"So you think we're all doomed by our ancestors?" _

_"Not exactly, while I do think good people will be rewarded and bad people will be punished, that isn't to say destiny is written in stone. I believe if someone tries hard enough, they can avert tragedy destined by karma. Besides, we can't always be worthy of what we are given. For instance I can't think of anything I've done in my lifetime to warrant coming to this island and meeting a friend like you." He smiled warmly. "But at the same time I feel it was my destiny to do so."_

_"Oh…" She smiled and hugged him around the waist lightly. "Thank you…" She could barely keep the tears from coming, part from happiness and partly from regret. _

_-End Flashback-_

Sierra sniffed as she told of her reminiscing. "I didn't have the heart to tell him about the curse. He seemed so happy to be here and I didn't want to ruin that for him…" She sighed. "On the third day of the festival, his entire crew was killed and his ship was burned down. His body was the only one found outside the fire on the shore. After that happened I couldn't stand to let another group go into the curse unaware, that's why I told you and your crew about it." She cried silently.

"It's not your fault that happened…" Niri sighed and patted her on the shoulder. "Besides, you're trying to make up for it with us, there's no use beating yourself up about it."

"I suppose so…" She sniffed and wiped her tears away again. "He was just such a good person and we were so close. Even if I had only just met him it felt like we were separated as kids or something, you know? Haven't you ever felt like that about someone?"

Niri watched her and nodded slowly. "Yeah… I have." She smiled.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Axe groaned as he rubbed his head. "Man, what's up with me today?" He wasn't running a fever but he felt like crap nonetheless. He lay in bed staring at the ceiling, trying to clear his head so he could think straight.

"They're going to come after you…"

Axe shot up and looked around. "Who's there!?"

"They resent you…" The voice called again.

"Dusty, if this is one of your tricks I swear I am going to pound the hell out of you kit!" Axe stood up and looked around his room, looking for the source of this voice.

"They are going to betray you, they resent you for lying to them…" It repeated.

"Show yourself!" The treasure hunter shouted, searching around the room, in no mood to put up with any mind games. He whirled around, looking for the source of the voice that he couldn't quite place. He finally saw a dark figure in the mirror, when he turned around it wasn't behind him but the image in the mirror got clearer as he drew closer to the pane of glass. "You…" He growled.

"Been a bit hasn't it, captain?" The image of Kairi, his former First Mate grinned at him in the mirror next to his own reflection. "They'll be coming after you soon, just like I did they'll realize you can't be trusted, that you are a failure and not a worthy leader."

"Shut up!" Axe roared, grabbing either side of the mirror, as if to strangle the reflection.

"The curse will bring them all to realize that you are not worthy of trusting, that you are not captain material, face it your brain's damaged goods. You're too blinded by rage and revenge and your past pain to ever focus on the future. What should happen if you ever get revenge on me, the World Government and everyone else you're pissed at, what then?" She continued. "You lied to them because of your sick campaign for revenge against those who wronged you."

"I lied to them to protect them from you!" He shouted, turned away from the mirror and propping himself up on the bedrest.

"And yet you entered the Grand Line again seeking us out, you gathered a crew to get revenge on us. Your dream went from something pure, if not foolish, to something stained in blood, I am not the only monster created on that day Axe." Kairi focused on him, keeping a tone of bemusement. "You promised us treasure and fame and didn't pay up, you lied to us, and then you lied to them. You are a failure and a liar Axe, and because of that every single person you ever come in contact with will mistrust you and resent you for not trusting them in turn. Even now you're keeping secrets from them, aren't you?"

"SHUT UP! That's no one's business except yours and mine!"

"Is it!? What about HER?"

"I SAID SHUT UP!!!" Axe roared, ripping the post off his bed in sheer rage and throwing it at the mirror, shattering the glass and finally silencing the reflection. He panted and looked at himself in the reflection of the shards of glass. His eyes were more slitted and bloodshot than they normally looked and he was sweating heavily. He grasped his head, laying on the bed and letting out another scream of rage. He rubbed his forehead, which seemed to be pounding as if something was trying to split him open from the inside out. "Damn this headache…" He growled, trying to scratch the itch but finding his own skin too tough to do so due to his Devil Fruit unconsciously reacting to his stressed state. "Damnit all!" He growled, scratching till his fingers bled. Finally he grabbed one of his tomahawks from the side of the bed, swinging it on to his forehead as everything went black… and quiet.

What seemed like hours later a knock came on his door. Devon's voice called out to him from the other side. "The girls are back from their alright in there?" He obviously couldn't hear Axe screaming because of the locks and soundproofing in his room to keep his privacy, but he hadn't seen him all day and was beginning to get concerned.

"Ugh… headache…" The Captain felt his forehead, looking at the blood on his fingers as he stuck them in the shallow cut his tomahawk made in his thick hide.

"Alright, just wanted to let you know that I'm going to take over until you're able to lead." Devon nodded. "So don't worry about anything, just get some rest."

"Able to lead…" Axe repeated to himself as he clutched his hands on his bed sheets, spreading the blood on his bed. "I'm unable to lead…?" He growled, realizing that his crew really didn't have faith in him as the reflection had said. He sat up, glaring at the door. "It's fine Devon, I'll take care of everything…" He stared. He wasn't going to let another crew mutiny against him, he planned to stop things before it started.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Damnit, how could I lose him? He usually clings to my side like a lost puppy!" Dusty cursed as she ran down the street to the diner, hurrying along as fast as she could.

-Flashback-

_"DJ-kun, how long's it take to get a snack?" Dusty walked in the galley as she looked around, finding the swordsman nowhere in sight. _

_"Oh, I sent him to go pick up Azu from that diner. He's been there since this morning I don't feel like dragging his drunk ass home when he's done partying and ogling the girls down there." Niri replied, polishing her father's pistol._

_"WHAT!?" Dusty's eyes widened. "Damnit!" She was supposed to keep an eye on him, she couldn't risk him running into something at that diner that could trigger another breakdown like last time. _

_"Why? Was there something important you wanted him to do here?" The sniper asked._

_"No, I mean yes, I mean… Niri, just trust me, we have to split up and go look for him and fast!" _

_"Why?"_

"Just because, trust me!"

_"Alright, if you say so." Niri waved her hands in front of her. "You go check the diner, I'll check back at the shrine and see if Sierra's seen him."_

-End Flashback-

Dusty cursed herself again as she headed down the path looking for any sign of DJ. Suddenly she spotted a familiar figure up ahead. Instinctively she hid behind a tree until she could better see who it was. As the figure got closer she was it was DJ, with a surprisingly satisfied look in his eyes, perhaps more disturbing was the fact that he had Raikiri unsheathed and in his hand as he walked down the path, grinning to himself as the sword gleamed in the orange sunset light.

"D-DJ-kun?" Dusty asked, coming out of hiding as he came within range.

His face lit up upon catching sight of her, his grin broadened and his eyes narrowed. "Hello Dusty-chan."

"What're you doing?" She asked.

"I went to go get Azu, but Rena-chan said he already headed back to the ship. But the trip wasn't a total loss, I found something interesting there and did something very special for you." His lips curled into a grin as he spoke.

Dusty's eyes widened as she remembered the outcome last time.

_He turned around to see Dusty and smiled, his blood-covered face showing a genuinely happy expression for the first time in a while. "Dusty-chan… I did it all for you, so we could be happy together…"_

Was it already too late? "W-What is it DJ-kun?" She asked shakily.

"Not yet." He grinned. "I want everything to be perfect when I tell you about it, you'll be so happy…" Dusty watched in horror, wondering if he had already become a murderer. "Dusty-chan, are you alright? Please let me know if something's bothering you. I'll always be here to protect you and help you… always." He leaned in to kiss her on the lips, leaving the shocked kitsune girl to push him away in terror.

"You liar!" She shouted as he fell on his back. She ran away as fast as her feet would take her. He chuckled lightly and snickered as he stood up. "Please wait Dusty-chan…" He began to give chase.

----------------------------------------------------

Niri hurried into the shrine looking for DJ. She saw Iago and Shioru looking over some files as she entered. "Guys! Have you seen my friend DJ? It's important." She panted, not entirely sure why it was important but trusting Dusty's judgment.

"We have more important things to deal with than your love-struck friend." Shioru grumbled. "Seems you're not the only ones to get afflicted with the curse."

"What do you mean?" Niri blinked and walked over the files they were looking over.

Iago walked up to her quietly and patted her on the shoulder. "A group of pirates that arrived the day before you were just killed a few hours ago outside the diner." He explained sadly. "It's a shame… more deaths because of superstitions…" He sighed.

Niri's eyes glanced over the files describing the death of a band of pirates including a tattooed man with a spear and a zoan user catgirl pet. "No way… it couldn't be…" She gaped in horror.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Dusty ran out to the bridge leading towards the shrine, hoping to find Niri and get help from her about what to do about what had happened. It hadn't taken DJ long to catch up to her with his speed and soon she lay panting over the bridge, staring into the ravine and rushing river below. "What's wrong Dusty-chan?" DJ asked, "I thought you would be happy…"

"Just… Just stay away!" She shouted, backing up to the edge of the bridge while scooting to the other side of the ravine.

"Please Dusty-chan, just calm down, everything will be alright now…" DJ compassionately inched towards her.

"Back off, murderer!" She cried, tears running down her face.

"Dusty-chan…" His eyes widened in hurt as he walked towards her again. "I…" He reached down towards his waist…

"STAY AWAY YOU LIAR!" She screamed, thrusting her hands forward as he came closer, causing him to lose his balance off the edge of the bridge, dropping something he was trying to grab out of his pocket as he began to tumble into the ravine, with the rushing river beneath him.

"No way… I'm actually going to die from falling?" He laughed to himself at the irony. "This is so anticlimactic after everything that's happened…" He looked up as he slowly tumbled to the chasm below. "But… I'm glad…" His eyes locked on Dusty as he fell. "I'm glad that the last thing I see is you… Dusty-chan…" He closed his eyes as he fell into the ravine, crashing silently into the rushing waters, his world turning black within moments.

Dusty panted as she stared wide-eyed into what she had just made happen. "W-What? What just happened?" She turned to what he had dropped before he fell, picking up a silver heart-shaped locket. "Is this…"

-Flashback-

_DJ smiled as he looked to the vender outside the tavern. "Wow, it's beautiful, I'm sure she'll love it." He grinned and handed over the leftover allowance in his pocket. "Think you can inscribe it for me?"_

_"It'll cost extra but sure." The vender nodded, looking down to the man's sword. "Maybe you could give me that as compensation." He grinned at the beautiful sword. _

_DJ took out the weapon so the vender could admire it, noticing the heavy weight that its true wielder didn't seem to have to deal with. "It won't exactly work for you, don't worry though, I'm sure I have plenty of money for it." He took the sword back, not bothering to sheathe it. _

_"Might want to keep that out for a while, heard there's a murderer on the loose praying on outsiders like you. A group of pirates was killed a few hours before you got here."_

_"Thanks, I'll keep that in mind." He handed the vender the payment for the inscription._

_"Alright, what do you want the inscription to say?" He asked._

_"I'd like…"_

-End Flashback-

"I'll always be there for you…" Dusty sobbed as she read the locket. He really hadn't killed anyone this time. What he wanted to show her was his gift to her to help her deal with the worry she had this morning. Yet because of her mistrust of him, she ended up being frightened and even killing him, perhaps she'd fallen under the curse herself, unable to stop herself from being scared and paranoid. She looked down into the river, a tear rolling off her cheek and falling down the ravine into the water. "I'm sorry…"

-----------------------------------------------

Niri returned to the _Ocean Dreamer_ after she made her discovery about Dimitri, ready to tell the crew what had happened. As night fell, she found the deck of the pirate ship strangely quiet. "Hello? Anyone here?"

A rustling, sloshing sound greeted her as Axe opened the door to the deck, smiling at her warmly. "Hello Niri-chan, hope you're alright, they didn't come after you too, did they?"

Niri's eyes widened as she scanned up and down her captain and long-time friend. First was the demonic slitted look in his eyes and the self-inflicted furrow on his forehead that caused blood to run down the middle of his face. Next he had a few small cuts as if he'd been in a fight or at least a small struggle with someone. Finally his clothes were drenched in an amount of blood far disproportionate to the injuries he had, meaning it was most likely someone else's. "W-What happened here Axe? Did the curse get you?"

"No, no…" Axe smiled warmly. "It was them, the curse took them and they couldn't control their mistrust for me, they thought I was a bad leader and tried to take control from me. But I wasn't going to let that happen, not again." His eyes narrowed. "I'm just glad you're not hurt Niri-chan, everything will be alright now, they're taken care of."

"How do you know I won't betray you because of the curse then?" The sniper queried.

Axe chuckled softly and shook his head. "Niri-chan you're the only one I can trust. I know you'd never betray me no matter what." He walked to the edge of the deck, resting his giant stone axe, also smeared with blood on the railing of the ship.

Niri shakily nodded her head as she realized what had happened. Axe wasn't the type to let something else take over him like this, he had his secrets but he was also very close to his friends and trusted them not to betray him despite being hurt in the past. She knew this wasn't the friend she had come to know and love, and she knew she had to do something about it to release him from the agonizing curse. "Axe… you trust me, right?" She walked closer to him as his back pressed against the railing.

"Of course Niri… like I said, you're the only one I trust with all my heart." He nodded lightly.

She looked up at him, eyes shiny with tears. "Then… hold me…" She sobbed quietly as she wrapped her arms around him and he wearily did the same. She used all her strength and pushed her weight against him.

Axe felt himself slip and his eyes widened. "What are you doing Niri?" He asked.

"Just trust me, I'm helping you…"

The treasure hunter nodded quietly and whispered. "Alright, I trust you…"

His childhood friend pushed off with her feet until the railing broke under their combined weight, holding him tightly in the embrace so he couldn't escape as they fell into the ocean together. Axe's Devil Fruit took effect and he couldn't move in the seawater as they fell together. Niri could easily swim to the top and save herself, but she wanted to be here with him while she was trying to save him as they both sank.

Axe mouthed a few words as they both sank below the waves.

Niri nodded in agreement and held him tighter, closing her eyes and enjoying the embrace until both their visions turned to darkness…

------------------------------------------------------------

_**Well that's done, sorry if some stuff is confusing but working with alternate timelines is odd. Seems like these two tried in vain to rescue their nakama and avert tragedy, but something out there still believes in them and there are still mysteries to be unraveled inside Hinamizawa. What is the nature of the curse? Drug, conspiracy, magic, or a true curse? How will the other be able to find the source and stop tragedy when no one remembers? Who really killed Dimitri and the others? What secrets does this small island town hold? The answer is one step closer in the next chapter! **_

_**PS: The song I used in the beginning is an english dub of Naraku no Hana, the ending theme for Higurashi no naku Koro ni.**_


	4. Tsumihoroboshihen

**Tsumihoroboshi-hen **_(Attonement Chapter)_

Dusty sighed as she lumbered out of bed, getting dressed and stepping outside of her and DJ's room, slamming her fist on the wall. "Damnit… I screwed up and now everyone's dead and we're repeating this damn day again… who knows when it'll stop and then they'll all be dead for real… I can't keep messing up…"She hung her head.

"It's alright, I failed as well, I overlooked Axe's paranoia and he killed me and everyone else because of it." Chizuru adjusted her hat, leaning against the wall next to Dusty's bedroom door.

The fox-girl jumped. "You gotta stop appearing out of nowhere Chiz…" She sighed and went back to her depressed demeanor. "So that plan didn't work, there's no way we can track everyone on the crew for the subtlest signs of breaking down. What do we do now?"

"We try and save each other." The navigator nodded. "We have to keep everyone from killing each other, yes. But the fact that the day repeated not once, but twice means that there's something strange going on here."

"Gee, ya think?"

Chizuru ignored her crewmate and continued. "We have to get to the bottom of the mystery here. We have to figure out what about this island is breaking us apart, and more importantly what's keeping time from marching forward."

"So how do we do that?" Dusty's ears twitched.

"We do what I do best, research. We learn about the island and what's happened at the past spring festivals, maybe if we learn how this started, we can stop it as well. I'm sure they keep files on such things in the police force directory or the Furude shrine."

"Not like they're gonna just hand them to use though…"

"True, but I have an idea for that too…" Chizuru grinned and placed a hand on Dusty's ears, tugging them as she walked down the hallway. "Come along…"

"OW! Not the ears!"

Down the corner, DJ poked his head around and looked back and forth. "Dusty-chan? Huh… I thought I heard her voice… oh well, guess I'm imagining…."

"_THAT'S A LIE!!!" _His own voice rang through his head.

He stumbled against a wall, holding his head. "… What the hell was that?" He rubbed his temples and righted himself, heading for the kitchen. "I must be so hungry I'm hallucinating or something, hope Axe didn't eat everyone's breakfast again…"

------------------------------------------------------------------

"Are you sure this is gonna work?" Dusty asked, turning to face the navigator in the bushes.

"Yes, I'm sure, here he comes, now do your thing!" She shouted as a man dressed in the uniform of Shioru's ninja police force walked down the path from the ship to town.

"HALT!" Dusty altered her voice to sound commanding and deeper but still feminine.

"Huh? Who!? ACK! I-It can't be! K…"

"That's right!" Dusty shouted. "I am Kyuui!" She had used her illusionary powers to change her look to make her hair and ears white and her outfit to look like the statue they saw at the Furude shrine.

"K-Kyuui-sama… Why have you come to me?" The man bowed his head reverently.

"The archives of my works must not be left in the hands of man! I have come to tell you to bring the records of the festival before me so that I may take them back to… uh… the god place!"

Chizuru facepalmed. "We're doomed…"

The man raised an eyebrow. "How do I know you're really Kyuui-sama?"

"You dare question god!?" Dusty roared. Chizuru chose that moment to use her psychic power to lift her off the ground slightly so it looked like she was levitating and threw a heavy-looking stone in the man's general direction, adding to the god-effect. "Now bring me those files or Hinamizawa shall feel my curse rather than just the pirates!"

"I-I could just burn them for you or something ma'am."

"NO! I mean…" Dusty coughed and adjusted her voice back to the commanding tone. "No, do as I say now! Bring them to me so I can take them to the god place and do not tell anyone! Or I'll… throw a squirrel at you!" She laughed maniacally as the man ran away. "Piece o' cake." She gave a thumbs-up to Chizuru as the psychic lowered her down and her looks turned back to normal.

Chizuru sighed and shook her head. "We're lucky that guy was an idiot…"

-----------------------------------------------------

Devon panted as he swung his swords back and forth with heavy weights on his wrists, training in case they saw any more fighting before they left Hinamizawa. The others had some kind of picnic planned for the afternoon but he found this as a more useful expenditure of his time.

"Devon? Dev?" Kirsty poked her head out of the galley and found him training on the deck. "Ah, there you are."

"What's up?" He huffed as he swung his swords again and turned to his wife, toweling off a bit and walking towards her.

"I decided not to go on the picnic today, I remembered I gotta take Azu and do something, there's something I have to take care of." She rubbed the back of her head lightly.

Devon raised an eyebrow. "Azu? What do you need him for?"

"That's kinda a secret" The blonde doctor continued rubbing her head. "I'll let you know if we need anything."

"Why don't I just come with you then?"

"NO! I mean… it's really just the kind of thing that needs him and me. Sorry, but it'd be better if you didn't… I promise I'll be back soon."

"Alright, if you insist… good luck taking care with whatever it is…" The swordsman sighed and walked past her into the galley.

"Thanks, love ya!" She called and he returned the sentiment. "Azu! We're all set!" She called as Azu came running out of the galley with a fresh jug of sake in hands.

Devon shook his head as he watched them depart. "Wonder what they're doing together that they need to be alone…" He turned to Herman. "You think Azu and Kirsty…?"

The lobster merman raised an eyestalk and shook his head. "You're kidding, right? Azu gets shot down by every girl he meets, and somehow some he hasn't. Besides, Kirsty wouldn't do that."

"I guess so… it's just me being paranoid I suppose." He laughed and itched his neck.

---------------------------------------------------

DJ smiled as he walked out onto the deck. Dusty and Chizuru were just returning from some venture and Niri was watching Kirsty and Azu pack to go out somewhere as well. Life was good.

"_To protect a life I love… I will take YOUR life!"_

"_No! Why should I trust you!?" _

"_If it won't yield, then I'll bludgeon her!" _

"_Trust us… Believe me…"_

"_Why should I!?"_

"_Because we are trying to save you!" _

"_THAT'S A LIE!"_

The voices ran through the swordsman's head at a blistering pace as the hallucinations and images came to him… more and more like a memory. He screamed and fell to his knees, causing everyone to rush over to him.

"Are you okay DJ-kun!?" Dusty's eyes widened as she watched him panting, eyes wide and full of fear as he remembered.

"How could I have done that!?" He sobbed. "I killed Kirsty… I killed Niri and Azu…"

"Huh? DJ-kun, I'm alive!" Niri shouted. "What's going on!?"

Dusty's eyes widened and she patted him on the back. "It's nothing to worry about, you guys go on ahead, I'll take care of him." She watched as Niri, Kirsty, and Azu left and turned back to DJ. "DJ-kun… do you remember that you killed Niri and Kirsty and Azu?"

"Yeah! It wasn't exactly like here, but it was a world very similar to this…" He nodded, panting. "I couldn't stop doubting my friends for some reason, and ended up killing them!" He shook his head. "My nakama must have tried to save me! Why did I ignore them!?" He leaned over and sobbed loudly.

Dusty's eyes softened as she and Chizuru looked on him with sympathy. "I'll forgive you DJ-kun…" She said softly, causing him to look up at her in surprise. "You realized your sins. But no one else will understand them, nor can they forgive you for them. But I can…" She smiled warmly. "I understand what a wonderful person you are."

"Dusty-chan…" He whimpered softly.

"You can help us now, with what is happening to the others." She looked around at her nakama calmly.

"Yeah, it's just like I was… I really wanted to believe in my nakama, but I just couldn't… But Niri and Kirsty risked their own lives to save me!" He pounded his fist on the deck. "They tried to get me to open my eyes! All the way until they died!" He clenched his fists. "I won't give up now! Tragedy can be avoided! We can fight this destiny! And we'll grab our own futures ahead of us!" He stood up proudly, ready to fight for the future.

Dusty and Chizuru smiled. "This truly is a miracle… I never thought that the will to fight could be so beautiful and awe-inspiring… That kind of will has the power to change destiny. That's why I'm going to help you." The miko grinned. "As many times as it takes, we will reach the future that lies ahead of us!"

"Man, everyone's coming or going, seems like I'm the only one still on the ship…" Niri sighed after saying goodbye to Kirsty and Azu. DJ stepped in front of her, looking her in the eyes sadly. "Huh? DJ-kun, what's up?"

Without a word, DJ wrapped his arms around her, making her face turn red with surprise. "I'm sorry…" He whispered in her ear. "I'm really sorry…"

"About what?" She squirmed against the embrace as she tried to wiggle her way out, obviously embarrassed and uncomfortable. "I… don't know what you're talking about…"

"You don't have to understand…" He sighed, keeping the hug tight. "But I'm really sorry. I'll never doubt you Niri, I'll never doubt any of my nakama again. So please, forgive me for that day…"

"Ack! He's hugging her!" Dusty screamed. "Why is he hugging her!?"

"Relax." Chizuru chuckled. "I'm sure it's purely platonic."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Later in Chizuru's library of a room, she and Dusty went over the files the member of the ninja police force had given them. "Where'd DJ-kun go? He could help out with this…"

"He's coping with the fact that he killed his friends in another world, give him a bit of time, he'll come around." Chizuru thumbed through the records. "Lets see, last year there was a marine vessel that came through, all were killed, leading to this place becoming a no-sail zone for marines under captain level authorization. Year before that it was pirates, all were killed. And the two years before that… all were killed, nothing interesting here." She sighed and took off her hat, putting it on the rack by her chair.

"We already knew all the people before were killed… what we wanna know is how NOT to get killed!" Dusty flailed.

"I know, I know!" Chizuru sighed as she looked over the file on the first year of occurrences again. "Hmmm… this could be interesting. According to this, Hinamizawa was scheduled to become a Marine base before the first year of the sacrifice. Since this place is so close to Sabaody Archipelago, they thought it would be a good place to nail high-ranking pirates before they make it to the New World and essentially out of their hands."

"Well what happened then?" Dusty sat up from reading her own stack.

"There was a protest from the citizens who didn't want to leave their home or disturb the ground of their god for obvious reasons. The whole issue was dropped after the first sacrifice took place however."

"So you think this sacrifice thing was all some excuse to keep the marines away with a curse?" The fox-girl's ears twitched.

"It could be, or it could be Marines laying low and striking fear into protestors so they can use the curse as a warning for what could happen if they keep stepping out of line the curse could turn on the town. Suddenly this place doesn't seem like such a nice place to live and they all leave."

"Why would Marines kill their own men though?"

"Same reason Marines do anything 'Justice'. I wouldn't put it past those bastards…" Chizuru sighed.

"Yeah… but either way we don't have any proof or any way of knowing if we're on the right track or how to stop it."

"True, I haven't seen any marine presence around here but that doesn't mean there isn't any. This is just getting worse and worse… it was bad enough when it was just a god… but now they could have an army behind them…"

------------------------------------------------------------------

Austin poked his head in and out of the cabins, an angry look on his face as he gave a silent growl. _"Where the hell did that penguin go? I swear he's learning too much from Niri, now he's even stealing MY DIALS! And I'm the cute one!" _He poked his head into DJ's and Dusty's room, and was about to pull out since the illusive bird was not hiding there, when something caught his eye.

The dark blue cloud-ridden sheath of _Raikiri _was leaning up against the bed. This puzzled Austin and he tapped his cheek a few times. _"That's weird, DJ is normally attached to that thing at the hip… literally. … Odin, I'm glad no one can hear my lame mental puns. I hope he's alright though…"_

---------------------------------------------------------------

In the homestead part of Hinamizawa, DJ sighed as he leaned against the roof of a residential building, thinking to himself. "… I killed my nakama… those who I swore on my sister's soul that I would defend with my life… and yet I'm still here… but worse for the wear." He closed his eyes and rolled over onto his side. He knew when he tried to pick up Raikiri this morning that something was amiss. The sword was still protected by the spirit of the ghost samurai Sarutobi, who had slain the Rokubi and sealed the lightning power inside the sword.

Because of this fact, the sword was heavy when he first tried to pick it up, as it was to most people who attempted to move it. Not unusable, but an impediment to anyone with an evil heart. He had unlocked the power of the sword by using the memory of his father to remind him why he protected the weak and close to him, however, now it seemed the sword had rejected him once more. Had his soul changed? Was that all it took? "Am I… a murderer?" He looked up into the sun, putting his hand in front of his face and letting the sunlight slip through his fingers.

---------------------------------------------

Later as the sun was just beginning to set on Nidei, the others had gotten back from their picnic without incident. Azu and Kirsty had also returned from their mysterious outing and the former was scribbling furiously, writing page after page out onto the small drafting desk he had set up in one of the common rooms. He seemed very intent on what he was writing, not looking up for an instant. He was so focused on his writings he didn't even notice Niri stroll in until she tried to look over his shoulder.

"Whatcha doin~?"

"Writing…"

"Really? What're you writing? Is it porn?"

"NO IT IS NOT PORN!" Azu facefaulted, turning his shoulder so Niri couldn't see him as the pen moved.

"Aww, come on…" Niri tilted her head to look as she nearly fell out of her chair stretching.

"It's something for Kirsty, that's all I'm saying." He grumbled as he straightened up so he could write normally.

"Ooooh, a love note huh? Naughty Naught Azu." Niri seemingly pulled a paper fan out of nowhere and hit Azu over the head with it a few times. "You shouldn't covet other people's wives, don't you know that?"

"It's not a love note!" Azu grumbled furiously, staring at the fan. "And where the hell'd that come from!?"

"I got it at the Spring Festival this afternoon, you like it?" She giggled playfully. "You know I'm just playing…"

"What's going on?" Herman poked his head in as he carried a bundle of cleaning supplies to the closet behind the duo.

"Azu's writing."

"Oh? Is it porn?"

"Nope, a love letter."

"IT IS NOT PORN OR A LOVE LETTER!" The shipwright flailed and stared daggers at his nakama.

"Lemme see then, yoink!" Niri laughed as she deftly plucked the most recent page out of Azu's hands.

The shipwright's eyes widened in pure horror as he quickly ripped it out of Niri's hands. "NO!" He panted as he flattened the paper back out on the desk, sighing towards Niri. "I'm sorry, but could you just please leave me alone? This is something I have to do alone…"

The dark-haired sharpshooter nodded lightly, raising an eyebrow to her usually jovial friend. It wasn't like him to not be in a kidding mood. "Sure man, don't worry about it, good luck with that." She and Herman quietly left the room as Azu resumed his studious task.

What each of the three had failed to notice was Devon standing at the other entrance, looking into the room through a crack in the door, gripping the knob mercilessly and glaring at Azu with a scowl, his fingertips turning a light red as he itched his neck.

----------------------------------------------------------

As the sun set and night took over, the sound of the cicadas quiet chirping echoed through the dark environment. Each of the Axe-heads went to sleep until they were all in bed with the exception of Devon, DJ, Chizuru, and Dusty. Dusty sighed as she looked over the papers they had stolen for what seemed like the hundredth time. He fur stood up on end as she heard a light rumble, causing her to shiver. "What's that?"

"Thunder, a storm's coming but judging by the sound it's to the east of us. The worst we should get is a few rumbles and a little sprinkle." The navigator responded.

"Good, I hate storms." The kitsune girl shivered again and shook her head. She glanced over the forms once more before slamming them down and ruffling her own hair in frustration. "GAH! I think these have told us all they can. Maybe we should consider interrogating some of the villagers too. I mean sure they may lie and hate us, but it can't be any worse than what's already happened, and we might get somewhere."

Chizuru nodded lightly and set her papers down in a much quieter manner. "It's worth a shot I suppose. Research is my thing, but perhaps a more social approach would be more effective."

"I have no idea what you just said but I'm ready to get out there and start knocking some heads! CHA!" Dusty laughed evilly and grabbed her gear.

"…That's not what I meant at all…" The navigator sweatdropped and shook her head.

Meanwhile, in the halls, Devon glared into the darkness as he stepped quietly throughout the ship. He peeked into Azu's room but he wasn't there. Letting out a frustrated growl, he took a walk through the ship and ended up outside his own door. Before he could even turn the knob, the door swung open and instead of his wife, Azu stepped out, looking down before looking up to Devon with a scared look on his face.

Devon's eyes widened in pure hatred, he didn't even want to think about what Azu was doing there at this time of night. He turned without a sound and stomped down towards the galley.

"Demon wait!" Azu called after him, quiet to try not to wake the others. "I can explain! Devon!" He got a little louder as they left the cabin area and Devon nearly slammed the door in Azu's face. The rumble of thunder outside became more fierce as a lightning strike flashed outside the ship, illuminating the swordsman's figure in the dark galley.

"Devon!" Azu stormed into the galley, getting up behind the First Mate, trying to reason with him. "I…"

"SHUT UP!" Devon roared, staring daggers at his former friend. "I can't believe I trusted someone like you. I should have known!" He shouted as he dragged a nail across his neck again. "You've been after Kirsty this whole time you little shit! I should have seen at Water 7!"

"No…"

"LIAR!" Devon cut him off, stepping in quickly and disregarding his swords, he reached for Azu's neck, grabbing him and slamming him against the wall with such force the entire room shook. "I should have known! Things were better off when it was just me and Austin! I can't trust the lot of you!" He screamed as his grip tightened as he slowly strangled the life out of the shipwright.

"I-I never…" Azu stammered through the chokehold. "We didn't…" He gasped for air as a stream of drool escaped his lips while he tried to breathe to no avail.

"THAT'S A LIE!!" He screamed, another thunderclap punctuating his shout.

Azu kicked and struggled, trying to figure a way out of his friend's death grip, struggling to swing his legs. Eventually he was able to swing a kick capable of hooking up and hitting Devon in the head. The force sent the swordsman tumbling into the galley table, breaking the fragile wood structure and shattering dishes in the process. The shipwright fell to the floor with a thud, rubbing his throat and coughing for air.

"What the hell's going on in here?" Dusty poked her head in, the sounds of others rustling in their beds starting to echo throughout the ship.

"Devon's gone nuts! More than usual!" Azu shouted as Devon leapt for him again in a blind rage. The drunken boxer leapt out of the way, heading out the door before anyone could get a grip on either of them.

"You bastard!" Devon screamed, leaping towards the door with equal speed, kicking it open and off its hinges just in time to see Azu jump over the edge of the ship and run up the shore. The demon swordsman quickly gave chase as the lightning in the air reflected his ferocity.

"What the hell is going on here!?" Axe shouted as he barged out of his room, a few other Axe-Heads following suit.

"Dev crazy, Azu ran, we gotta stop him." Chizuru said calmly as she looked after them, trying to determine

"We gotta find them first!" Dusty screamed as she hopped over the side of the ship, quickly followed by many of her nakama, taking off into the city of Hinamizawa in an attempt to avert tragedy.

------------------------------------------------------

A few hours later, Devon laughed manically, clawing at his neck idly as he stood atop one of the buildings in the Hinamizawa residential district while the sounds of the pirates searching had driven many of the villagers from their homes in curiosity.

"People of Hinamizawa!" The swordsman exclaimed. "Just like my nakama you have lied to me about the curse of Kyuui-sama. I thank you for this however. This deception put me on the course necessary to see that my so-called nakama are also untrustworthy."

"What the hell's he talking about?" Shioru growled as he glared up at the pirate.

"I'm scared Furude-chama…" Michelle whimpered as she looked up at Devon.

Devon lowered his head and snickered, remembering chasing Azu through the streets until he was out of sight before coming up with his current plan. It was so devious he couldn't help but laugh to himself. He laughed lightly, slowly raising his head and his volume of laughter until he was roaring with laughter, crying up to the midnight moon with his joyful, maddening scream. "Because of my gratitude, I will let your town take part in the vengeance against my former nakama. You see, as judgment for lying, I've decided to destroy this whole town and the evil pirates in it. This entire place will be destroyed in fifteen minutes. May Odin have mercy on your souls." He smirked wryly.

The citizens of Hinamizawa screamed in horror. Shioru called after his ninja policemen to apprehend the offender, however their attempts were easily dodged and they were cut down by the skilled swordsman. The former First Mate of the Axe-heads jumped down off the roof and took to the streets, laughing manically as the city came to panic.

"Did you hear that!?" Niri shouted to her searching friends as they entered the area, looking for Devon but finding him nowhere to be seen in the darkness. "Devon's gonna blow the whole town up!"

"Something's not right here… no matter how angry Devon's been, he's never THIS irrational…" Axe muttered to himself. "Yeah! We gotta take care of that first. Tell everyone to try and find what he's going to use to cause the explosion! Man, this feels like Alabasta all over again…" He sighed and disappeared using Soru.

The pirates soon spread out across the city, searching through buildings and streets, around the hills and water, but found nothing substantial. Austin let out a silent growl of frustration as he looked around the area. It had been over ten minutes since Devon made his announcement and still nothing. He blinked as he noticed something… a distinctly foul smell. A thought struck him as he looked towards the local school building.

A gust of wind blew past the cabin boy as DJ appeared next to him, assessing the scene as he looked around. "I can't believe it's come this far. I suppose it starts with mistrust of one person, then goes on from there until you hate all your friends… I can't believe I did that too…"

Austin looked up at his nakama in a confused manner, having no idea what he was talking about. He signed his new discovery to DJ, hoping he understood. _"DJ! Devon's going to blow up the whole city! My dials were missing earlier and I can smell the methane from my breath dials in the air all around this area! He must have a flame dial trigger somewhere nearby and is going to use a chain of breath dials to send us all sky high!" _

"… well shit."

"_You have to use your speed! Since the smell's here we must be downwind of it so that means the trigger must be…" _

"On the roof!" DJ realized, looking up to the roof of the school building. He started to run up the stairs to the roof until a clank made him turn around to see Austin holding _Raikiri _in his hands.

"_I thought you might this…"_ He smiled warmly and tossed the sword to DJ.

"Thanks little guy." He smirked, catching the sword, attaching it and running up the stairs, heading for the roof.

"_Good luck DJ… and godspeed…" _

-----------------------------------------------------------------

DJ reached the roof within seconds because of his speed, looking around bewildered as he rushed to find the flame dial trigger Austin had mentioned. He dashed around, seconds remaining before the deadline. He spotted something in the gutters and leaped towards it. Once he was over it mid-air, he was able to see it was a flame dial with a fuse near the button, ready to be released once the fuse ran out. With all the gas in the area, the amount of flame released by that dial could well cause an island-wide explosion. DJ reached for it as he fell, trying to reach the trigger before the fuse went out, it was only a few centimeters long now.

By the time DJ had spotted the fuse, a small group of villagers and Axe-Heads alike gathered around the base of the building, watching and starting to realize what was going on. Seconds passed like minutes and hardly anybody let out a breath as they waited to see what fate awaited them.

A triumphant fist rose into the air, holding the fuse for the flame dial as DJ lay on the roof, panting from the loss of adrenaline. "I… I did it…" He panted, thankful everyone was safe again.

"You too Macleod?" A voice came from the next roof as Devon hopped onto the school roof, curious as to why his bomb hadn't gone off. "I knew you were annoying, but I must admit I trusted you at one time too. I should have known better." He growled as he pulled out _Geri_ and _Freki. _

DJ shot up like a bullet, eyes wide. "Devon, so you really have gone off the deep end. It's not too late to stop this!"

"It's far too late for that…" He smirked, twirling his blades as he clawed at his raw and bloody neck.

"Someone get up there and do something!" Dusty shouted, rushing forward into action. "DJ-kun's gonna get killed!"

Chizuru held her back. "There's nothing any of us can do. We can't interfere."

Dusty growled. "What do you mean? He's not THAT strong, get up there and kick that baka demon king's ass! We can do it together!"

"Devon is in the darkness now. His vision is so blurred by tears of pain he can't see the truth in front of him. He has trapped himself inside his own world of jealousy, sadness, and hatred. Only someone who has felt that pain and emerged victorious can save him now. DJ's the only one of us who can break him free."

Dusty looked down and nodded slowly and nodded lightly. "So… what do we do now?"

"Have faith in him. Believe in the people we are trying to save have the power to save themselves."

"Get ready to die Macleod!" Devon laughed manically as he leapt into the air, ready to pounce on DJ.

DJ gripped _Raikiri_, nervous as to whether the sword would be heavy for him again because of his past actions. _"Please Raikiri, I'm sorry for what I've done in the past. I know my heart's changed and I may never fully redeem myself for what I did to my friends…_

_But still… I'd like to atone for my sins. I'd like to try and make things right… and then… bit by bit… fight by your side again!" _He lifted the blade to block both of Devon's gladius swords and grinned. "… light as a feather…"

"What?" Devon growled as they shoved off of each other, sliding to different ends of the roof.

"Nothing, just starting to think I can do this." The musician grinned.

"Well think again!" Devon snickered. "Our first real rematch since Whiskey Peak. I've been waiting for this for a long time."

"Me too Demon King, me too." He chuckled.

"Tanketetsu!"

"Burning Sonata!"

The crackling energy and burning heat wave collided in the middle of the roof, cancelling each other out was the energy dispersed and the two swordsmen rushed one another once more.

"Niflheimer, Koori Kiri!"

"Koan Hebi!" The strike of ice and the heat snake collided, sending bits of frost and ash into the air as the swordsmen were just steps away from one another. "I can help you Devon! We all can! Have faith in us!"

"Why should I!?" Devon shouted as he swung his swords again, this time upward behind his arms. "Valkyja Sigrdrifa!"

"Shinsoku battô: Panther Run!" DJ swung his sword with great speed as Devon used tremendous strength in his strike. The blades bounced away from another and both swordsmen went for a strike direct to their opponents. Devon caught DJ in the right shoulder and DJ got a slice in just above the Demon King's waistline.

Both combatants broke up towards the sides of the roof again as first blood was spilt. "I had problems trusting my friends as well. No matter what I did I couldn't bring myself to trust others. The paranoia grew until I ended up killing others. Please don't let the same happen to you!"

"And what of it? So what if I kill a few liars and thieves like you, my so-called nakama!? I've been killing evil people since the day my mother died! It should have stayed that way! Back when it was just me and Austin! I should have known I couldn't trust a single one of you!" Devon wailed. "I should have stuck to my family!"

"WE ARE FAMILY!'

"THAT'S A LIE!"

"Do you really believe that!?" DJ shouted, near tears. "What about Kirsty, you love her, right? I can tell that's worth trusting people! That kind of love isn't for nothing!"

"Of course I did! And she betrayed me with that pervert! You speak of love, what kind of love is that!?" He swung again, as both swordsman gave an exchange of fast and strong swings, nicking each other with their blades but neither drawing a significant wound.

"What about all the time we all spent together!? What about when we risked our lives for Kirsty at Enies Lobby!? When we fought for Dusty on Kinmotsu!? What about all the ties we made during those times!? You can't tell me that that's… you can't say that's USELESS!!" DJ roared, shoving Devon off his sword hard, panting as he glared daggers at him.

"Muspelheim, Kooen Kiri!"

"Grande Sonata!" The heat blasts collided with each other, scorching the roof and singeing the combatants. Small fires broke out on the rooftops as the two swordsmen glared at one another.

Both ripped off their singed jackets and tossed them aside, ready to enter the endgame of this duel. "Shinsoku Iai: Phantom Howling!" DJ drew and sheathed his sword so quickly that a shockwave shot out around him. Meanwhile Devon drove his sword into the roof and let out a similar blast.

"Nioavellir, Sindri's Kanadzuchi!" The shockwaves from both swordsmen rang out from them and collided mid-air like an earthquake. The resounding shock shook the entire area around them, letting shingles fall from the roof and blowing out the fire their previous attacks had created.

"I guess there's no reasoning with you, idiot." DJ glared at Devon, panting from the effects of their duel. "I'll have to break your legs and drag you back to the ship, maybe that'll get you thinking."

"Go ahead and try it, speedy wimp." Devon grinned wickedly.

"Your small world of hatred and paranoia will collapse on you, you need to trust your friends!" He shouted one last attempt to reason before preparing for a final strike.

"Enough talk, Ragnarok, Chaotic Judgment!" Devon ran at DJ for a final rush.

The musician did likewise. "Final Encore!"

Chizuru watched the two men about to collide. "Dusty?"

"Yeah?"

"Duck"

The resounding explosion from the combination of their attacks rocked the entire area, causing the school building to crack under them, looking like it would give way any second as did many of the other buildings in the area as glass and cement shattered within the mighty collision.

"I can't see! Who won!?" Niri shouted, turning to Kirsty, who had been silent out of grief the whole time.

The doctor stared up into the debris cloud, tears welling up in her eyes. "Devon… how could it come to this…?"

The questions were answered as a sword flew down from the roof and stuck into the ground. It was _Raikiri_.

The two swordsmen stood with their backs to one another, Devon holding his blade gleaming with blood, looking cut up with deep gashes and very bloody, his black skull shirt in tatters. DJ was barely standing, a deep gash across his chest as he coughed up blood, legs shaking as he tried to stay up. "D-Devon…"

The Demon King grinned, itching his neck again, hands becoming more bloody from the scratching. "Looks like I win Macleod."

"I-I… I'm sorry…"

Devon's eyes widened. "What?"

"You didn't talk to any of us about this, and that's why things got this bad…" He coughed up more blood, struggling to get out his apology. "It must mean we weren't worthy for you to come to, we weren't there." Tears streamed from his eyes as he finished. "I'm sorry… maybe if you had come to us about this, we might not have reached the best solution but… but it certainly would have been better than this!" He shouted, teetering on the edge of the crumbling roof.

Devon's eyes widened as he watched the dying man's repentance, speechless as the crowd around the building watching them.

"It's funny… my mother and father died when I was very young. And Sirena died before I set out too. So I've never really had a full family…"

----------------------

"_Hey guys! Wanna time me and see how much meat I can eat in five minutes!" _

"_Axe, do you ever thing you eat too much meat?"_

"_No such thing as too much meat!" _

"_Your heart will tell you otherwise when you get older, listen to your doctor." _

"_Niri, could you get the meat out the drawer in the fridge? We're gonna test this!" _

"_Nice.."_

"_ANGLE!" _

"_Axe! Azu! I'm gonna fucking kill you guys!" _

"_Hahahaha! Can't catch me!"_

"_heh… will those two ever learn?"_

_------------------_

"But… when I spend time with you guys…"

-----------------

"_Hey Dev, up for a sparring match?"_

"_Not much of a match against you, but sure I'll kick your ass."_

" _Oi, you're gonna get it this time!"_

"_Gimme your best shot!"_

-------------------------

"I wonder…"

------------------

"_Never stop trying to get stronger, or you'll never be a match for me Macleod!"_

--------------

"If being around Niri, and Axe, and Kirsty and all of you, if… if this is what having a real family is like…" He stifled out these words through his tears. "And with you and Austin… I wonder if that's what having brothers is like… That's why… as your brother… I'm sorry for failing you.." He smiled warmly as he finally fell off the roof, stone crumbling beneath his feet and his weak footing caving as he fell unconscious. He reached out his hand in one last motion as Niri had to him in a different world.

Something snagged the hand and a few drops fell on his face. A few moments later rain began to fall, no thunder, no lightning, just the quiet and steady rain. Devon sighed as he leaned over the edge, holding on to DJ's hand to keep him from falling to the ground. The First Mate pulled DJ up to the roof and into his arms,, slowly making his way down off the roof and to the crowd below as the rain continued to wash away the spilt blood.

"… I'm sorry too…"

--------------------------------------------------

_**That was the first time I had found hope that destiny could be changed, that tragedy could be averted. The first time I saw reason for the arrival at Hinamizawa. Those strong hearts I felt at the beginning were creaking but stayed strong. But there was a gift that had been given by the struggles among friends…**_

…_**Hope…**_

_**Alas, tragedy still befell Hinamizawa as many of the Axe-Heads were still found murdered before festival reached its peak. The mysterious force behind the mystery of the repeating festival had not yet been revealed. However, this would be the trigger of a big event known as the Hinamizawa incident which had potential to affect the world. Hope was born, but disaster still took its course.**_

_**Darkness befell the world and darkness remained for a long time after as things continued to get worse in that time when…**_

_**When They Cry. **_

_**---------------------------------------**_

**Hope you liked that chapter, hope you enjoyed the last part, first attempt at a sentimental flashback. And sorry if the swordfight wasn't as epic as some hoped, but it was intended to be more emotional, ya know? There'll be more epic fights later I promise! Also, I've decided to separate this fic into two parts, this one and "Kai" like the original Higurashi series. The next chapter will be the last one before Kai begins, and with that some more of the mysteries behind Hinamizawa will be revealed. But can destiny change for these pirates? Will tragedy be averted and will the "big trigger" be avoided? The mystery continues to unravel in the next chapter!**


	5. Danchouhen

**Yeah, I know it's been forever, that's why in this update you get a bonus side-chapter to close off this part of the Kaizoku No Naku Koro Ni series! Enjoy!**

Danchou-hen (Heartbreak chapter)

"What exactly are we doing here Chizuru?" Dusty asked as they stepped into the Hinamizawa café. "This is really more Azu's kind of place with all the scantily-clad women, though if you swing that way that's totally cool too." The fox girl chuckled nervously.

"Neither of us could remember anything from the last time Hinamizawa reset after Devon killed DJ. And when you checked with him this morning, he couldn't remember the past resets, even though he rediscovered them last time. That leads me to believe we're going to have to do some research."

"… you lost me, how'd you come to that conclusion?" Dusty's ears twitched curiously.

"DJ proved that people besides us could remember the Hinamizawas of the past, and Devon proved that people could be broken out of whatever hold this town has on them before they kill someone. It was just for a moment, but something broke through the repetitions of the disaster where we kill each other. If that happened, then breaking out of this cycle is possible. However, time still reset despite the fact that Devon owned up to what he did and DJ was the only one that died. It was by no means a perfect run but it alludes to a repetition of Hinamizawa where none of us die being possible. That being said, if there are so many shades of tragedy to these repetitions, we aren't likely to find it by accident. We can't simply keep the others from killing each other and hope to escape, outside forces are repeating time anyway while others are trying to break the cycle, and one of them is on our side. In order to fully utilize that force, we'll have to find out all we can about Hinamizawa, Kyuui-sama and this curse." Chizuru explained.

"… okay, that almost makes sense, but why are we doing that here?" Dusty looked around the café again.

"I agreed to meet a contact here, I sensed some doubt in her mind about the curse when we met her when we first came to Hinamizawa. Hopefully she can fill some of the details in. Ah, here she is, please sit down miss." Chizuru gave a thin smile behind Dusty.

The kitsune turned around and noticed one of the café waitresses scooting into the booth next to her. "Umm… Yes, you wanted to see me?" The green-haired waitress asked nervously.

"We've become quite curious about the exact nature of this curse you people have told us about." The psychic woman leaned over the back of the booth. "How exactly did it come about if it's some declaration from a god you've never seen?"

The girl squeaked slightly, as if the question was as painful as a pinprick to her heart. "I shouldn't even be really talking to you about this…" She whispered.

"Please, it's very important." Dusty looked at her with an uncharacteristic somberness. Sensing her resolve, the waitress began to speak.

"Kyuui-sama's curse came down generations ago from Sierra-chan's ancestor, Frederica Bernkastel. She was the priestess in the time before even Gold Roger, when the first pirates came to Hinamizawa. The vistors were welcome with open arms, however they trashed the village in their violent ways. Frederica told them they should be ashamed and that Kyuui-sama would punish them for their deeds. The next night, the captain of the pirates was found in his quarters, he had scratched his own throat out. The pirates were enraged, believing that Frederica was somehow behind it since she delivered the warning. They attacked Frederica and burned her as a witch. Upon the pyre Frederica never once screamed, as they lit the fire, she merely laughed and said they would all be punished and no visitors would ever be allowed in Hinamizawa again." The waitress paused.

"That SUCKS!" Dusty pounded her fist into the table. "Just because some pirates were dumbasses, we have to go around killing each other in some kind of endless loop?"

The waitress raised an eyebrow to the fox girl but continued her narration. "Everyone thought the curse she made in Kyuui-sama's name was just a legend as it faded over the years. But four years ago when the marines threatened to build a base on the island and get rid of half of the homes, people began to use the curse as a defense again. And it just so happened it came true, even after they left, every year during our spring festival visitors come, and visitors die." She finished her story.

Chizuru nodded, scanning the girl's mind to make sure that was all she knew. "That doesn't give us much to work on. However this may be the work of a single person trying to defend the island from the marines by keeping up the notion of the curse.

"But how does that explain all of us going cuckoo on each other if it's not really a curse?" Dusty asked quietly after the waitress took her leave.

"That's the problem, we have a bunch of theories, but they all clash with one another in one way or another. It's like a mesh of human, magic, and scientific motives and they can't all be right…"

"In that case we just have to figure out which ones aren't what they seem and kick the ass of anything left in our way!" Dusty proclaimed, standing up tall for the first time in the cycle of days. "I'm not going to sit helpless and keep losing people, I'm not going to just watch people kill their friends anymore!" She stormed out of the café.

Chizuru slowly stood up and watched her from the window as she too walked out. "Dusty… in all the cycles so far you have been the one who lived the longest as far as I can tell, and while my psychic powers explain why I can remember, you remember for seemingly different reasons. You may be more crucial to solving this mystery than we know…"

The two girls exited the café and made their way to the festival field where the others were going to play some festival games before having a picnic. Azu and Kirsty had left early in the morning to go do something or the other which put Devon in a bad mood, but Chizuru had made sure Herman would stay behind and keep a close eye on Devon to avoid a repeat of the last cycle of the festival. Austin had also stayed behind voluntarily which acted as a good mental support for Devon.

DJ ran up to the women with a loving expression in his eyes as he sped towards them, holding up a stuffed fox about the size of a volleyball. "I won the medium prize Dusty-chan~! I would have had the big prize but I suck at aiming things long distance. Here, this is for you."

The fox girl's face lit up, energized by her new motivation as she accepted the plushie. "Thanks DJ-kun." She smiled brightly and leaned over, pecking him on the cheek.

"Psh, I'm gonna go for the big prize!" Axe boasted as Dusty and Chizuru looked over the game. It was simple enough, throw a ball, knock over the can tower. It looked a bit more sturdy than a random assortment of cans but it probably wasn't that difficult.

"You get three balls." Niri explained. "You get the small prize if you use all three to knock it over, medium if you use two, and big if you knock them all off the platform in one shot."

"Alright! Here I go! KACHI KACHI NO… FASTBALL!" He threw the beanbag ball in a straight line, hitting the tower square on and knocking them all off the platform with one shot.

Dusty, Chizuru and DJ sweatdropped. "Did that really require a 'Kachi Kachi no…'?" They asked in unison.

"Well done!" The vendor praised. "Sorry but this is the only big prize we have left…" He chuckled nervously as he pulled a large stuffed horse from off the wall.

"Wha? A pony?" Axe blinked. "How girly…" He stuck his tongue out.

"It's a horse!" The vendor shouted defensively. "Look, if you don't like it, why not give it to one of your lady friends like speedy over there?" He snarled.

"Hmmm… I guess that'd be okay." He casually tossed it over to Chizuru. "Here Chizzy, catch. This kind of thing is too girly-girly for Niri." He smirked towards his childhood friends. "A shame they don't have guns or explosives as a prize, eh? Doubt you'd like any of this girl stuff any more than I would knowing you."

A split second of sadness crossed Niri's face before her expression changed faster than anything DJ's speed could do. She smiled broadly and rubbed the back of her head. "Yeah, I guess I'm just… one of the guys." She chuckled nervously. "Screw all of this girly stuff, I'm gonna go find some cool stuff that goes boom." She plastered a fake smile on her face before waving goodbye to her nakama and heading off towards the diner.

"Stupid baka…" Niri huffed as she kicked a can outside the Angel Mart diner. "He's so thick-headed, he can't even tell I…" She sighed and sat by a tree, pulling her knees into her chest. She sat in her gloom, trying to let out her frustration, eventually culminating in a scream that didn't help diminish her anger at all. Her voice became hoarse from a combination of the scream and holding back tears as she let out a whisper. "I'm a girl too, stupid…"

A rustling noise came to her sensitive ears before she saw Ishu Tomitake, the one-armed marine from the day before stumbling out of the diner, probably at least a little drunk. He laughed as he caught sight of Niri and stumbled over to her. "What're you doing out here by yourself girly? You should find some of your friends before something bad happens to ya."

"Same to you buddy." She shot a glare at the former marine.

"Awww, you look a bit miffed. What's wrong? Boyfriend dump ya? I swear you girls are always so emotional about these things." He gave a hearty laugh.

She continued glaring at him silently, giving him the distinct message to go away but his inebriation caused the signal to be fall on deaf ears.

"Some other chick get to him first?" He theorized in his drunken stupor. "Well them's the breaks." He chuckled, closing his eyes. "You gotta shake it fast or someone else will take him up. A woman that doesn't know how to seduce isn't much of a woman at all, eh?" A metallic feeling on his forehead caused him to open his eyes when he heard a distinct click. He saw the barrel of Niri's pistol between his eyes with the hammer pulled back.

"You may have a point, but…"

_BANG!_

Niri sighed as she whipped the blood off her gun and hands, dragging Tomitake's nearly headless body into a more wooded area before cleaning herself up. He was an idiot but he did have a point… someone had to pay for this…

Once the others went off for their picnic, Dusty and Chizuru met to discuss what their strategy was. "I know we said we're going to have to look at the mystery beyond the killing, but that doesn't mean we shouldn't try and stop everyone from killing each other as long as we can." Chizuru explained. "The others seem fine and Austin and Herman are watching Devon, but one of us should keep an eye on Niri while the other does research on the curse."

"You go ask everybody, you're better at that since you're psychic." Dusty decided. "Meanwhile I'll go cheer up Niri. As long as one of us is with her she should be fine. Besides, Niri likes me." She smirked.

Later, back on the _Ocean Dreamer_, Niri sat against the wall of her room, thinking to herself with a murderous intent in her eyes and her dirk, _Bite of the Shark_ in her hand, the forbidden fish-man weapon stabbing into the floor repeatedly.

'_All I wanted… was to be important to him… we were so close when we were little. Maybe that's when I…" _She shook her head and growled as the dirk hit the wood deck again, adding another cut to the dozen in the area she was stabbing. _'But now… he won't even think of me as a girl anymore. What changed?' _A flash came to mind. _'Of course… we met new people, these people drove us apart. They're the ones taking his love away from me! Especially her…' _

A particularly violent growl escaped her mouth as she slammed the weapon into the ground again and it stayed wedged in the planks. He thought of the other girl that was always by the captain's side, the one he told his deepest secrets to, things he wouldn't even tell her… "Chizuru…!" She growled. _'Esspecially her… she's the reason why we've drifted apart, she is the wedge between us!' _A sly smirk played across her feature as she pulled her weapon out of the wood and stuck it in her pants.

"In that case… I'll just have to do something about them… especially her." A small chuckle escaped her mouth before soon she was in uproarious laughter. "Then we'll be together…"

After the picnic, Axe decided to top himself off with a before-dinner snack and stopped at the Angel Mort diner/café. "Oh hey!" The green-haired waitress Chizuru and Dusty had addressed before called out to Axe. "You're the captain of those girls, right? They were asking around earlier about some stuff about the town and Kyuui-sama."

"Girls?" Axe questioned. "Oh, you must mean Chizuru, she's always trying to find out something new about everywhere we go, probably why she has all those books in her room too." He chuckled lightly as the green-haired waitress giggled. He made his order for meat and waited as the waitress brought out a fresh rack, causing him to practically drool at the sight of it.

"You pirates sure eat a lot eh? Seems like you and your crew are coming around all the time." She laughed softly.

"It's part of the job description, gotta keep the strength up, never know what adventure is just over the next wave!" He grinned a bit cheekily.

At that moment Niri had decided to go looking for Axe when the others came back to the ship and said he had gone out for even more to eat after they finished. She entered the diner and scanned around. Her eyes narrowed as she saw the two laughing and talking so affectionately, flirting. She scratched at her neck with anger and immediately bolted out the door, leaning up against the side wall waiting for Axe to leave, then the green-haired waitress got off her shift soon after.

Grabbing one of the waitresses by the hair, particularly the one who openly began to flirt with Axe, Niri hauled the girl away to a shed next to the temple, one that looked like it hadn't been used for ages. Opening the door, a flash of lightning hit outside, lighting up the shed and Niri's face. A pure demonic look in her eyes as she pulled the girl inside and shut the door.

Though the girl was gagged and hanging by her arms, she still struggled against her bonds, watching as Niri began to play with sharp objects. "Do you know how long I've known him?" The waitress began to shake her head, unsure of what the other was talking about. "That guy you were throwing yourself at. Did you know that we were raised together? Did you know that I've known him our whole lives? Then we split up, he going off to be a treasure hunter, me a Marine. I was willing to risk my own neck to save him should they somehow get a hold of him. He bailed me out when I was locked away for life. Then we come to a place like this, with girls like you and that's when all my hard efforts go to waste!" Niri's voice starting to lose its calm, slowly filling with hate before erupting into screaming.

Drawing near the now crying girl, Niri held up a knife. "But you, you were doing this OPENLY, in front of me. You didn't know that I'd haul you off and kill you, did you?" The waitress began to sob. "DID YOU?" She shook her head hard, praying to the god that a miracle. "You should have known that he's mine. He's always BEEN mine. MINE! But you took his attention away from me, you stole part of him away." She then held the knife above her head. "HE'S MINE!" she screamed, plunging it down on the girl, watching the knife bury itself in the soft flesh of the bound waitress.

As blood began to squirt from the open wounds, Niri began to cackle and laugh, her stabbing getting more and more eradic and faster, never stopping until the writhing girl finally stopped struggling, stopped moving, stopped breathing. "You'll never steal him from me again, will you?" Grabbing the dead girl's face, squishing up the cheeks, she made the girl shake her head. "Good."

Dusty looked all over the ship but couldn't find Niri wherever she looked. She headed out to search the village, heading back in the direction of the field and café when she saw Axe coming up the trail. "Hey Dusty, sup? If you're looking for DJ I think he's with Chizuru."

"No, actually I'm looking for Niri." She breathed a sigh of relief at that though, with Chizuru was probably the safest place for DJ right now.

"Haven't seen her since she left the game area. She said she was going to go look for explosives and stuff. Maybe she found something cool and ended up in a drinking game to try and get it off the salesman." He shrugged.

"Maybe… I hope so…" Dusty's ears drooped.

"Come on, it's getting late, let's head back to the ship. She'll turn up before dark." Axe urged as he gestured back to where the ship was docked.

"Alright, I guess so…" Her earlier confidence was wavering as it became harder and harder to tie the loose threads of this curse together.

"Don't worry, I'm sure Herman'll cook up something delicious for dinner and it'll cheer us all right up, get our minds off the creepy voodoo stuff this island seems to enjoy pulling on people." Axe chuckled.

Dusty nodded, reluctantly giving a smile. She had to stay positive, if she was going to break Niri out of her funk and break the curse, she had to cheer herself up so she could cheer up everyone else so they wouldn't kill each other. He smile slowly becoming genuine, she nodded. "Alright, let's go."

Niri quickly exited the shed and cleaned the blood off herself, taking a shortcut back to the ship through the trees and off the path to avoid being seen. The trek had tired her and once she got to the ship she sat back on the railing of the ship and curled up, her eyes closing and ready to drift off to sleep.

Eyes opened as Niri heard voices coming up the galley stairs. Axe was laughing about something, making Niri blush and smile but when he came up the stairs, he was busy looking behind him, to the one coming up the stairs with him. Someone made a noise, causing him to erupt into more roars of laughter before a softer feminine giggle entwined with his. Niri's eyes narrowed dangerously as she drew her knees to her chest, wrapping her arms around them.

"Sup Niri?" Axe asked before walking away, leaving Niri staring at the miko on the ship.

"Hey Niri!" Dusty bubbled, bouncing her way over to the sniper. "Why aren't you smiling? You're usually in a good mood!" Lowering herself to Niri's height, she put her fingers on the corners of the former Marine's mouth. "Smil-gaaaaack."

Niri's hand shot up so fast and grabbed around Dusty's throat that the Zoan didn't see it coming. "Don't ever touch me." Grinning, the former marine looked in Dusty's eyes. "You made him laugh." Dusty, trying to pull Niri's hand away from her throat, slowly turned blue. "You made him smile, you made him laugh. What else have you done for him?" Niri growled out, the grin now gone, replaced with barred teeth. Dusty's claws began slicing Niri's arm, trying anything to get free. "How about you do something for me now?"

_Chiz…HELP!_

"I want you to die," Niri breathed out, tightening her hold on Dusty's neck.

_In the end, I couldn't do anything to help her… It's…it's…_ Dusty's vision began to fade into darkness as her eyes began to roll to the back of her head.

"You're going to die for stealing his smile from me."

_...Niri…_

As the Zoan's arm hit the floor beneath her limply, Niri loosened her hold only to stand up and pull Dusty's body to the railing of the ship. "With the Devil Fruit still very active in your body, you should sink very quickly. No one will ever find you, not even your precious DJ." Dropping Dusty's body over the edge, she watched as bubbles came to the surface, popping as the miko's body disappeared into the darkness of the Blue. "Rot forever, kit," Niri whispered as the last bubble popped.

Somewhere on the island, a hand reached out of the shadows and grabbed a Den Den Mushi, picking up the receiver and speaking into it. "My part of the plan is ruined." The mysterious figure spoke in an indistinguishable voice. "We're moving the plan up a few days, initiate the attack immediately, I want to this place to be rubble under my feet" The figure hung up the snail with an indignant sigh.

A shiver went down Chizuru's spine, she couldn't tell what it was but her psychic powers told her something was definitely very wrong and something very bad was going to happen. She turned to DJ, whom she had convinced with little difficulty to investigate the curse despite the fact he could no longer remember the time loop. "Something's wrong, we should get back to the ship as quickly as we can…" She hopped on DJ's back as he took off full speed towards the ship. _"Damn, we focused all day and tried to get info on the curse and didn't get anything else useful on how to stop it. And now this _is happening, don't tell me we've failed again…!"

The two made their way to the ship in less than a minute thanks to DJ's speed. "What's wrong Chizzy-chan? Everything looks fine."

"Everything always LOOKS fine, right before it goes to hell on this fucking island." Chizuru punched the side of the ship.

"What is it!" DJ pleaded, looking even more worried.

"DJ… I can't hear Dusty's thoughts." Her fist shook against the side of the ship as small droplets of tears fell into the sand. "She was with Niri and… and now Niri's thoughts have become clouded from me, she's not thinking in the same way humans do anymore."

"That's absurd, there's no way Niri-chan would have…" He looked down, daring not finish the sentence.

"For her sake, I wish you were right…" Chizuru's eyes grew cold. Even when others died she couldn't sense it as clearly as she could now. There was only one possibility, Dusty's death was only the beginning of something much, much worse.

The two boarded the ship, looking around as it seemed empty. There was a light on in Axe's cabin but the rest were presumably elsewhere. They opened the door to the galley to find Niri at the table, standing and smiling brightly at them. "Hey there guys." She said warmly. DJ gave a friendly wave but Chizuru was more cautious.

"Niri, where's Dusty?" She asked firmly.

"Oh, she wasn't with you?" Niri tilted her head playfully. "Maybe she's with Herman getting some more food, heard he ran out halfway through dinner so it's been postponed."

"No, she said she was going to go see if you were okay." Chizuru replied sternly, looking down at Niri's arms where cuts from Dusty's claws remained. "Where'd you get those cuts?" She asked

"I was helping Herman cook and slipped… a lot." She lied blatantly.

Chizuru had a hard time believing someone who used a gun with such proficiency wouldn't be able to handle a simple kitchen knife to the point of carving up her arms. "I'm going to ask you again, and remember you are talking to a psychic, where is Dusty?" The navigator bluffed, with her foresight blocked by the looping of time in this area keeping her from reading minds too well and the fact that what she could gain from Niri's mind at this point was merely a torrent of anger and obscenities, she wouldn't be able to tell, but maybe the fear was enough.

"Niri-chan… what did you do with Dusty-chan?" DJ asserted, his fists clenching and shaking from anger and frustration.

Niri growled, the growl eventually became a smirk and a dark chuckle as she scratched at her head furiously until her scalp bled, laughing maniacally. "That's it! You caught me! I give up!" She declared, standing up.

Chizuru stayed on guard as Niri made her way over to them, DJ's eyes widened in shock, not believing what he was hearing. "DJ-kun~…" She said sweetly, looking up at him and resting her fingernails on his chest. "You understand, right? When it comes to love, things can get a little, crazy…" She smirked.

A flash came to DJ's mind as he remembered the image of himself striking down Dimitri in a rage. _"To protect a life I love, I will take YOUR life!"_ He held his head trying to shake that image out.

Chizuru watched in suspense as DJ struggled with his inner demons. '_Don't fall for that DJ, you've grown since then. You recognized your crimes of killing Niri and Kirsty and Azu and atoned for them by snapping Devon out of the same trouble!'_

DJ winced. "No… I'm not that kind of person anymore…" Tears streamed from his eyes as he looked at Niri. "Why Niri-chan?"

It wasn't the reaction Niri was hoping for, but it was good enough. Her hand pulled on the nearly invisible thread attached to one of the cabinets, suddenly a loud bang from behind DJ rang out and a blood spot began to spread on his chest. Behind him a hole in the cabinet stood smoking where one of Niri's guns was hidden waiting for her to pull the string attached to the trigger. The sniper watched coldly as DJ fell over in a heap. "Looks like even the fastest thing alive can't dodge a bullet he doesn't see coming." She remarked.

Chizuru roared, spinning her knives as she lunged at Niri. The sniper raised _Bite of the Shark_ defensively and blocked the daggers. The agile martial arts the gunner employed Outmaneuvered the slashing and lunging from the navigator and she brought her own dirk in for an attack, scoring a small cut on Chizuru's wrist. While taken aback from the injury, Niri ran her knee into Chizuru's stomach, kicking her straight through the wooden walls of the galley and onto the main deck of the ship.

Chizuru righted herself as Niri stepped out on the deck, both spinning their daggers. "I have no reservations about killing you now. You're no longer my nakama, just a demon in human form ruined by this curse."

"A demon, an angel, I don't care what I am! I would go to hell and beyond to get him back!" Niri roared, lunging and sweeping at Chizuru's legs. The psychic woman jumped over the attack but was left vulnerable when Niri landed an upward kick to her hand, knocking one of her knives out of her hands.

A quick clash between their small blades saw them slashing and stabbing at each other with little effect other than small cuts to their skin and clothing. A nimble spin from Chizuru's more experienced knife work disarmed Niri. When Chizuru lunged at Niri's heart, the gunner managed to grab her wrist and keep it inches away from her breast, twisting Chizuru's wrist painfully and leaving them both bare-handed.

Chizuru swiped and swung boldly with her fists at Niri but the martial artist managed to nimbly avoid each hit, scoring one of her own with almost every successful dodge. The numerous hits caused bruises to appear on Chizuru, but she wasn't slowing down, only getting more angry. "Psy Battering Ram!" The focused blast of pressurized mental energy rammed into Niri, hitting her square in the stomach and pushing her straight through the railing of the ship, landing hard on the thankfully soft sand below.

Niri groaned, feeling the wet sand stick to her body as she slowly got up and Chizuru jumped off the ship, landing in the sand beside her. She caught Niri off-guard with the first swing, getting off a hit to her jaw. The black-haired girl, still disoriented swung again and again missing each time as she moved in the wrong direction but managed to avoid Chizuru's own hits.

A hit to the shin caused Chizuru to fall as Niri climbed on top of her, beginning to choke the life out of her the same way she did Dusty. While Chizuru's eyes began to lose focus, she focused her telekinesis to throw Niri off her, coughing when she felt her hands release her throat. She kicked and grappled with the other girl in the sand, feeling the sand cling to them and cloud their vision as they fought down the shoreline and desperately tried to force the other into submission.

A psychic blast from Chizuru forced the two apart. The navigator prepared to use her last talent. She focused on a spot on her opponent, igniting Niri's arm with her pyrokinesis. A scream bellowed from the gunner as her arm began to burn, however the shriek of pain became a smirk of demonic glee as she reached into her jacket and pulled something out.

"Thanks for the light Chizzy, since you got me all wet I wasn't sure if this would work anymore, but with all this fire how can it not?" She pulled a stick of dynamite for her dynamite launcher from her jacket, lighting it on the ignited arm until the fuse began to go down. "Farewell Chizuru, he's all mine now." She threw the stick, diving into the ocean in order to put out her arm and shield herself from the explosion as the massive blast engulfed the navigator.

Her ears rang, even with her surprising distance and the cushion from several feet of water between her and the explosion. She checked her arm, she had some nasty burns on it but it was still functional. She caught sight of some ships out on the distance of the ocean with some red flares shooting up, but paid them no mind as she made her way over to Chizuru. The lump of a navigator was barely moving. "I see… you psychically shielded yourself from the blast, enough to keep it from blowing you apart but you're not going anywhere." She smirked cruelly at the bloodstained Chizuru.

"I did it! I made it in time! I killed everyone I wanted to kill!" She laughed loudly, spreading her arms in victory.

Her eyes widened as the red flares from behind her and the ships closed in on the island, cannonballs striking the island all over, flames erupting near her. "What the hell? What is this!" She looked around. The red flames lit up the night sky as if it were sunset. It looked as if the whole island were burning down, but she didn't care The entire world could burn down for all she cared, now that everything was done there was only one person she wanted to see.

Axe had heard the noise of the dynamite explosion and the repeated cannonballs hitting the island and woke up, finding no one else on the ship. "Where are they!" He looked around desperately before shouting into the air. "WHERE THE HELL ARE MY NAKAMA!"

As if an answer to his prayers, though not the one he expected, a cannonball shot right at him, exploding on impact. Thanks to his rock-hard body it only felt like a very hard punch and knocked him to his knees, eventually knocking him unconscious.

Meanwhile, Niri ran across the island as it seemed to be diving into hell, buildings and people and the earth, all burning alike. Her eyes lit up as she spotted him, running towards him only to be knocked off her feet by a cannonball exploding a few feet away. She tried to get up but found her legs wouldn't move.

Nevertheless, as blood ran from her body, her clarity began to return. She dragged herself over to his unconscious body as the shells exploded around them. "Axe… don't worry…." She continued to pull herself closer to where he lay. She pulled herself on top of him, throwing herself over him like a shield despite his much tougher skin. "Don't worry…"

"I'll always look out for you."

"I'll always protect you."

"And I'll always love you."

**Well this is perhaps the most depressing chapter I've had to write so far, I wanted the last major chapter of this part of the story to be big, hope you enjoyed and here's hoping I get lots more inspiration soon!**

**I owe special thanks to Dragon's-Maidens for writing most of the scenes where Niri kills someone except for the first and the last. Also thanks to everyone involved in the Crew of the Axe project! **


	6. Epilogue: TIPS

Epilogue: TIPS

Two Marines walked down the dark, undersea corridor of Impel Down. However they were not headed towards the depths that history forgot of the Eternal Hell that was Level 6, the prisoner they intended to meet had already been taken up a few levels to an interrogation room. "I trust you know why you're here." The marine in the bucket hat and wooden clogs spoke without turning to the other. "My men inform me you're the best, that after the war at Marineford you were able to reassemble the psyches of those who faced that man… that demon, Whitebeard and lived. I can't imagine their terror and yet they're back to service, thanks to you." He gave a solemn look, not giving approval or disdain to the other.

"I'm just a psychiatrist." The doctor nodded to the commanding officer. "But I'll see what I can do, can you run me through the patient's history again?"

"In 1522 AOP, shortly before the Battle of Marineford, the island of Hinamizawa located in strategic prominence between Marineford and the Sabaody Archipelago was completely destroyed in a natural disaster. The patient was the only survivor. Because of the destruction, our forces were able to establish a base there without protest unlike what had happened years prior when residents of the town protested the building of the base resulting in the loss of a marine vessel. Because of the newly established base, reinforcements were readily available to the Saboady Archipelago and Marineford for the time of the battle. This directly caused three victories on our part. First, the new base caught the pirate crews designated as members of the "11 Supernovas" off-guard as the base did not appear on any maps yet and four of these notorious pirates were captured and executed while fleeing from the Archipelago to Marineford. Secondly, the increased reinforcements routed to Marineford gave us an unexpected advantage in the war against Whitebeard and not only did the execution of Portgas D. Ace, son of Gold Roger go as planned, but the ensuing battle resulted in the deaths of the Yonkou Whitebeard as well as Marco "The Phoenix" and "Flower Sword" Vista. The remaining crew members escaped with "Diamond" Jozu who is currently their acting captain. The last victory is the most important." The man took a breath before continuing.

The Marine Psychiatrist watched, knowing that the events that had taken place had greatly turned the tide of the ensuing war in favor of the World Government.

"Finally, a single Marine Vessel that had passed through the Gates of Justice was intercepted on the way to Marineford by ten ships from the Hinamizawa base that were on their way to provide reinforcements. The ship contained 241 prisoners recently escaped from here, Impel Down. Among them were Former Shichibukai Sir Crocodile and Jimbei, the assassin Das Bones, Emporio Ivankov, and Captain of the Straw Hat Pirates Monkey D. Luffy. There were no survivors. In addition, their immediate elimination allowed us to sink the disgrace of Chief Warden Magellan along with their ship and maintain Impel Down's reputation as the Great Prison." The bucket hat man finished.

"All that from one base… that disaster sure was lucky, eh?" The doctor eyed the officer. "I heard you were the one who orchestrated that "natural disaster" and that's also how you got your promotion two years ago…. Vice-Admiral Glenn."

The tapping of Glenn's wooden clogs on the stone floor of Impel Down stopped as they reached the interrogation room. "Just see what you can do about the mental health of the patient doctor, and leave your rumors to yourself…" The former second-in-command of Slayheim Fortress and current Chief Guard of Impel Down spat with a small amount of disgust in his voice. "Normally we wouldn't care about his mental stability but we need him sane enough to tell us where he thinks **that man** might be…"

"Understood sir." The Marine psychiatrist entered the interrogation room while Glenn took his spot in the adjacent observation room. The doctor looked over the man with a calm gaze, trying to give off an air of trust to his patient despite his appearance.

The man was very large but his skin seemed to hang off his frame, he had stopped eating in any substantial amount other than just enough to keep himself alive, as if adding an extra torture of hunger to what the guards already gave him. His eyes looked defeated, he didn't even need the large chains that hung from his wrists, made of kairoseki no less. He barely seemed to register the doctor's entrance, his facial expression that of a man already dead, barely bothering to look at the man before his head came down again, as if some enormous weight was tied to his neck. He acted as a man who had tied an anchor to himself and was about to jump ship but couldn't find the will, so he merely stood there, slowing dying under the weight of his burden.

The doctor slowly pulled out a chair and sat opposite the man. "Good evening… Samuel D. Axe." The man failed to acknowledge him again. The doctor pulled out a Den Den Mushi and pressed a button to record their conversation for the Marine records. "Why don't we start out slow? Tell me how you survived the Hinamizawa Disaster. That must have been quite a cataclysm."

"Cataclysm?" Axe spoke hollowly, his face not changing aside from his lips moving. "Is that the fairy-tale they told on the outside? It wasn't anything natural, nothing of god could have done that." A faint glimmer of hate shone in the back of Axe's eyes. "You bastards initiated a Buster Call to contain Hinamizawa Syndrome and took everything from me for the second time that day."

"Second time?" The Marine psychiatrist raised an eyebrow, reacting in a calm tone. "What do you mean by that?"

"Before the Buster Call wiped out the island, most of my crew was already dead… whatever demon or god was on that island killed them before you could get your hands on them."

"If this demon got to them, how did you survive?" The doctor asked again.

"I… don't remember." Axe admitted. "I must have activated my tekkai instinctively and passed out. Because when I woke up the island was already completely toasted and your boys were beginning the search for survivors."

"And according to my records you gave yourself over to the Marine search party without a struggle. Tell me, why would you do that? You, who spent your life being a thorn in the World Government's side, who detested the Marine organization more than any other in the world. Why give yourself to your enemies?" The Marine doctor entreated.

"Because I failed to protect my crew… again I saw my nakama fall before my eyes to force of nature I could not hope to defeat. I saw signs of uneasiness and I couldn't bring myself to leave Hinamizawa before the log pose reset for fear of getting lost at sea. I watched helplessly as they all fell, one…by…one…" His malnourished fingers tapped on the interrogation table to punctuate each word. "After that kind of failure, I could never face them again. I could not join them in death without atoning for my failure. So I decided I would live, and give myself to the worst torture I could think of…"

"Us." The Marine Psychiatrist finished for him. "And that's why you're here, a shell of your former self who has lost the will to live yet refuses to die."

"That's right… even I was not able to leave that island unscathed. You see, in the two years I've been locked up here, I figured out the reason I survived." His sunken eyes stared at the doctor, or rather through him.

"And why is that?" The doctor asked curiously.

"Because Kyuui-sama chose me…" His eyes narrowed and his sagging face tightened with resentment. "I am the new host for that god of death that guarded Hinamizawa from invaders until Hinamizawa itself displeased her. And though I have been chained here, I have power to make those who cross me perish." He shot a glare at the doctor.

The Marine Psychiatrist immediately felt a shiver run up his spine, a heavy weight pushing on his shoulders. In addition he heard the faint sound, he would have thought it was down the hall if not for the thick stone walls, the sound of a small child crying. The pressure he felt was almost like resisting Haki, however whatever drove this man's corpse of ambition was much, much darker.

A tap on the glass from Glenn woke the doctor out of his trance and alerted him to get to the reason he had come here today. "Axe, tell me, where is Marshall D. Teach? You saw him that day, didn't you? Where is Blackbeard?"

Axe's eyes lowered as he remembered. "The day Luffy, Whitebeard, Ace, and perhaps the hope of the entire world died, I saw that man. He broke into level six where I was recently imprisoned. He told those who wished to join his crew to fight to the death. My cellmates immediately broke their chains and turned on me, however I still had my strength, if not my will." His gaze became even more sullen.

"I slaughtered them all without a second thought. When Blackbeard offered me a spot on his new crew, I refused. At that point I had already resigned myself to my atonement. I had decided to stay here no matter what and wait for death. That was two years ago. …I have no idea where he is now." He finally answered with a slight smirk. Despite his frail state he couldn't help but take small satisfaction that despite their victory, the Marines were no closer to their world of justice now than two years ago.

"If you want to have any hope of being able to face your crew again in the afterlife, you should tell us so we can stop his massacre!" The doctor shouted.

Axe couldn't help but let out a raspy chuckle at that. "Looks like until the end, I'm still a thorn in your side…" His cough suddenly got worse and the chair tipped over, chains clattering to the floor as Axe lay writhing in agony. The doctor rushed over to help and Glenn was soon behind him to make sure he wasn't trying to escape.

Axe lay flat on his back, a small light in the back of his eyes as he stared up into the dark ceiling of Impel Down, beneath the sea and sky he used to sail. "I… I'm ready Kyuui-sama, I think I've been away from my nakama long enough…"

"What are you talking about man!" The doctor shouted as he leaned over the captured pirate, the man's cough getting worse.

"I'll let you in on one last secret… because I am still cursed by Kyuui-sama, death follows me, I practically AM death… and in exchange… those whom I proclaim shall die." He looked the Marine doctor straight in the eye and whispered his final words. "Death… by water."

The Marine Psychiatrist stood awestruck as the prison guards took him away. Samuel D. Axe had apparently contracted a long-standing disease while imprisoned and was able to hide his symptoms through sheer force of will until his dying minutes.

Two hours after the interrogation, Samuel D. Axe, the legendary pirate and former Captain of both sets of Axe-Head pirates passed away. The World Government made no progress in their search for Marshall D. Teach. On a return trip to the Marine Hinamizawa base, the top Marine Psychiatrist's ship was attacked by a Sea King and sank, all aboard drowned.

The true nature of Captain Axe's ramblings about the demon god of Hinamizawa and the nature of the Hinamizawa Disaster were never decoded and were kept from the eyes of the public. The dark veil of destiny covered the truth for all eternity in this world.

**Well, this is the end. The tragedy of Kaizoku No Naku Koro Ni ends here in this sad dark area. However the truth can still be stolen from the clutches of impending destiny. In the second part of this tale the mystery begins to unravel as light is shed upon the true nature of Hinamizawa, Kyuui, and the mastermind behind the disaster!**

**Coming Soon: Kaizoku No Naku Koro Ni Kai! (When Pirates Cry: Solutions)**


End file.
